fr 


r  m>  «     .   i 


ABMSTXONG'S  SECOND  ED1TI0JT. 


THE 

CONYiEIRTEB  JEW? 

OR 

MEMOIRS  OF  THE  LIFE 


y 

C.  ¥.  FREY, 


JOSEPH  SAMUEL 

WHO  WAS   BORN  A  JEW, 
but  is  now  a 

Spinimx  of  tiz  (Fosprt  in  JUnfcotit 

To  which  are  added 

AN  ADDRESS  TO  CHRISTIANS  IN  BEHALF  OF 

THE  DESCENDANTS  OF  ABRAHAM. 

AND  A 

CONCISE    HISTORY    OF    THE    DISPERSION,   SUF* 
FER1NGS,    AND    PRESENT    STATE    OF 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED  BY  SAMUEL  T.  ARMSTRONG, 

Theological  Printer  and  Bookseller, 

No.  50,  CornhilL 

1815. 


mV 


DISTRICT  OF  MASSACHUSETTS— To  i»%u 

District  Clerk's  Office. 
Be  it  remembered,  that  on  the  thirteenth  day  of 
February,  A.  D.  1815,  and  in  the  thirty-ninth  year  of  the 
independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  Samuel. 
T.  Armstrong,  of  the  said  District,  has  deposited  in  this 
office  the  title  of  a  book,  the  right  whereof  he  claims  as 
Proprietor^  in  the  words  following,  fa  ivit: 

"The  Converted  Jew;  or  Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Joseph 
Samuel  C  F.  Frey,  who  was  born  a  Jew,  but  is  now  a  Min- 
ister of  the  Gospel  in  London.  In  which  are  describe^ 
Jewish  customs  and  ceremonies.  "Come  a*  d  hear,  all  ye 
that  fear  God,  and  1  will  declare  what  he  hath  done  for  my 
soul"....P3  lxvi,  15.  "This  shall  be  written  for  the  gener- 
ation tocomej  and  the  people  which  shall  be  created  shall 
praise  the  Lord."...  Ps.  cii,  18\  To  which  is  added  an  Ad- 
dress to  Christians  in  behalf  of  the  Descendants  of  Abraham." 

In  conformity  to  the  act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  intitled,  "An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  Learn- 
ing, by  securing  the  Copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to 
the  Authors  and  Proprietors  of  such  Copies,  during  the 
times  therein  mentioned;"  and  also  to  an  act  intitled,  "An 
act  supplementary  to  an  act,  intitled  an  act  for  the  En- 
couragement of  Learning,  by  securing  the  Copies  of  Maps, 
Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and  Proprietors  of  such 
Copies  during  the  times  therein  mentioned;  and  extending 
the  benefits  thereof  to  the  Arts  of  Designing,  Engraving, 
and  Etching,  Historical  and  other  Prints." 

WILLIAM  S.  SHAW, 
Clerk  oft/ie  District  of  Massachusetts 


PREFACE. 


IT  is  highly  gratifying  to  the  Author 
to  know  that  the  plain  and  simple 
Narrative  contained  in  the  following 
pages,  has  been  read  with  much  pleas- 
ure and  edification  amongst  various 
classes  of  Christians.  The  desire  to 
tell  the  world  at  large  what  God  has  done 
for  his  soul,  has  led  him  to  publish  ft* 
The  Author  has  endeavored  to  state  the 
-principal  and  most  remarkable  facts 
which  have  occurred,  in  the  way  in 
which  the  Lord  has  ltd  him  these  forty 
years  in  the  wilderness,  and  has  noticed 
throughout  the  work,  especially  in  the 
last  chapter,  manyoi  the  Jewish  cere- 
monies and  customs  Tiie  wo.  k,  hav- 
ing been  carefully  revised  and  well  exe- 
cuted, is  now  sent  forth  to  the  public  for 
the  edification  of  the  reader  and  the  glo- 
ry of  the  Redeemer.  That  these  ends 
may  be  answered  is  the  sincere  wish  of 
THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Page. 
An  Account  of  the  Author's  Birth  and  Education,  13 

CHAP.  H. 

Of  the  Religious  Offices  which  he  sustained  amongst 
the  Jews, 24 

chap.  nr. 

Of  the  Time  and  Place  of  his  embracing  the  Christian 

Religion, 14 

CHAP.  IV. 
Of  the  remarkable  Circumstances  which  led  him  to  a 
farther  acquaintance  with  Divine  Truth,  42 

CHAP.   V. 

Of  his   Entrance   into  the  Missionary  Seminary   at 

Berlin,  •        ----..  f£ 

CHAP.  VI. 

Of  his  Design  in  coming  to  England,  75 

CHAP.  vn. 

Of  his  Ministerial  Labors  amongst  the  Jews,  97 

CHAP.  vm. 

Vn  Address    to  Christians  of  all  Denominations,  in 
Behalf  of  the  Descendants  of  Abraham,        -         10$ 

APPENDIX. 
History  of  the  Jews,        ------        166 

False  Messiahs,       -        -        -        -        -        -        -        196 

Subscrib era's  Names,     ------       222 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  LIFE 


OF 


JOSEPH   SAMUEL  C.   F.   FREY, 

A  CONVERTED  JEW- 


CHAP.    I. 

HIS    BIRTH    AND    EDUCATION, 

IT  pleased  God  in  whom  I  live,  move, 
and  have  my  being,  to  favor  me  with 
the  light  of  this  world,  September  21, 
1771.  The  place  of  my  nativity  is 
Maynstockheim,  near  to  Kitzingc  n  in 
Franconia.  My  father,  Samuel  Levi, 
was  nineteen  years  a  private  tutor  in  a 
Jewish  family,  at  Mynburnheim;  and 
after  he  married  continued,  as  it  were, 
day  and  night  in  the  study  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures,  and  the  traditions  of  the 
fathers,  and  acted  as  Morah  Tzedek, 
whilst  my  mother  carried  on  a  trade, 
by  which  the  family   was   comfortably 


H        The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

supported.  Morah  Tzedek,  is  a  person 
to  whom  the  Jews  apply  for  direction 
in  difficulties  arising  from  the  observa- 
tion of  the  innumerable  religious  cere- 
monies with  which  the  Jewish  ritual 
abounds. 

According  to  the  religion  of  my 
parents,  I  was  circumcised  on  the  eighth 
day  after  my  birth,  and  received  my 
name,  Joseph  SamueL  The  reason  why 
I  have  now  three  additional  names  will 
be  given  in  Chap.  iii.  Jewish  children 
are  called,  by  the  name  of  the  nearest 
relation  that  is  dead,  perhaps  in  refer- 
ence  to  Detit.  xxv,  6;  accordingly  the 
first  child  was  called  by  my  parents — 
Levi,  which  was  the  name  of  my  fath- 
ers father;  the  second  was  a  daughter, 
and  received  the  name  of  my  mother's 
mother;  and  as  I  was  the  third  child,  I 
received  the  name  of  my  mother's  fath- 
er, which  was  Joseph.  My  parents  had 
ten  children,  five  daughters,  and  as 
many  sons.  My  sisters  were  taught  to 
read  the  prayer-book  in  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, u  e.  to  pronounce  the  words,  but 
without  understanding  even  the  literal 
jneaning  of  a   single   sentence*    Thb 


a  Converted  Jew.  15 

alas!  is  usually  all  the  education  which 
the  females  receive,  and  many  of  them 
have  not  even  so  much. 

Those  who  believe  that  females  have 
souls  as  well  as  males,  and  that  they  arc 
as  much  interested  in  ihe  covenant  bles- 
sings as  the  sons  of  Abraham,  will  a.o 
much  lament  the  neglect  of  their  educa* 
tion  as  they  will  disapprove  of  the  impi* 
ous  daily  thanksgiving  of  every  Jew: 
"Blessed  art  thou  Jehovah  our  God? ""* 
Kmg  of  the  world,  that  thou  hast  not 
made  me  a  woman."  Christian  females, 
let  me  intreat  you  not  only  to  shed  the 
tear  of  compassion  over  the  miserable 
and  degraded  state  of  your  Jewish  sisters, 
but  most  earnestly  to  supplicate  the 
throne  of  grace  that  the  God  of  Israel 
would  bring  his  daughters  from  the 
ends  of  the  earth  as  well  as  his  sons 
from  afar.  May  you  imitate  the  lauda- 
ble example  of  many  of  your  sex  who 
have  of  late  so  zealously  exerted  them- 
selves to  aid  the  funds  of  the  London 
Society,  under  whose  patronage  Jewish 
girls  are  educated  as  well  as  boys. 

My  brothers  and  myself  were  put  un- 
der the  care  of  a  tutor  in  our  own  fam* 


16  The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

ily,  who  instructed  us  daily  in  the  Law, 
or  five  books  of  Moses,  and  in  the  Tal- 
mud, and  on  the  Sabbath  we  were  ex- 
amined by  our  father,  in  what  we  had 
learned  through  the  week.  Our  tutor 
took  every  opportunity  to  inspire  us 
wi<h  prejudices  and  hatred  against  the 
Christian  religion.  Whilst  explaining 
the  Law,  he  used  to  mention,  in  several 
pluc-  s,  the  opinions  of  Christians,  raised 
objections  against  them,  and  endeavored 
to  establish  us  in  all  the  Jewish  errors. 
On  the  evening  preceding  the  25th  of 
December,  it  being  supposed  that  Jesus 
Christ  was  born  en  that  evening,  we 
were  not  permitted  to  study  any  thing 
sacred;  but  our  teacher  always  made 
tis  read  a  little  book  in  MS,  now  in  the 
possession  of  the  London  Society,  gen- 
erally called,  Toldoth  Yeshu,  i.  e.  the 
generation  or  history  of  Jesus,  but  some- 
times Maaseh  Tolah,  u  e.  the  work  or 
history  of  the  Hanged  one,  which  con- 
tains the  most  horrid  blasphemies,  and 
is  calculated  to  fill  any  person,  who  be- 
lieves it,  which  most  of  the  Jews  do, 
with  prejudice,  disgust,  and  hatred 
against  Jlsus  and  his  followers. 


a  Converted  Jew.  1? 

This  common  practice  of  the  Jewish 
teachers  was  more  strictly  observed  by 
ours,  at  the  express  desire  of  my  dear 
mother,  who  was  a  most  inveterate  enc* 
my  to  Christianity,  because  her  brother 
had  embraced  the  Christian  religion; 
and  had  lived  and  died  at  Strasburgh  in 
the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God.  Hence 
originated  a  common  saying  in  my  nafc 
tive  town,  whenever  a  quarrel  arose  be- 
tween the  Jewish  boys  and  my  brothers, 
and  in  particular  as  to  myself,  who  was 
always  the  most  unruly,  ii  was  generally 
said,  "let  them  alone,  they  will  certainly 
turn  Christians,  as  their  uncle  did."  For 
ever  blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  has  ac- 
complished this  prophecy  in  me,  the 
most  unworthy. 

My  mother  herself  narrowly  watched 
us,  and  would  never  suffer  us  to  read 
any  book  but  in  the  Hebrew  language, 
lest  we  should  read  any  thing  respecting 
Christianity.  The  reader  will  not  won- 
der at  my  mother's  conduct,  when  h£ 
is  informed,  that  to  embrace  the  Christian 
religion  brings  grearer  reproach  upon 
the  family,  than  if  all  the  children  had 
been  guilty  of  the  worst  of  crimes-  and 


18         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

the  person  himself  who  believes  in  Christ, 
becomes  the  object  of  persecution  even 
unto  death,  if  it  lay  in  their  power. 
One  of  the  names  by  which  they  call 
him  or  her  is  Meshummad  or  Meshum- 
medeth,  from  the  root  Shamad,  which 
signifies  to  destroy;  aRd  to  this  name 
they  generally  add  Yemach  Shemo  Ve>- 
ichro,  u  e.  let  his  name  and  memory  be 
blotted  out. 

The  advantages  and  disadvantages 
arising  from  the  mode  of  education  just 
mentioned,  have  attended  me  through 
life;  for  whilst  on  the  one  hand  my  pro- 
gress in  Jewish  learning  was  advanced, 
on  the  other  hand  I  was  kept  in  perfect 
ignorance  of  all  useful  knowledge.  Un- 
til the  24th  year  of  my  age  I  had  not  the 
happiness  of  seeing  a  New  Testament, 
nor  a  translation  of  the  Old.  That  little 
knowledge  I  now  possess  is  to  be  as- 
cribed to  the  blessing  of  God,  upon  the 
diligent  use  of  means  since  I  have  been 
amongst  Christians. 

Before  I  was  three  years  old  I  began 
the  Hebrew  alphabet,  and  when  but  six 
years  of  age  I  could  perfectly  read  any 
chapter  of  the  five  books  of  Moses.     It 


a  ConveHed  Jew.  19 

is  true,  I  understood  neither  the  mean- 
ing of  the  precepts,  nor  the  design  of 
the  ceremonies  contained  in  those  books; 
yet  ten  thousand  thanks  to  my  dear  par- 
ents, who  taught  me  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures  from  a  child,  the  fruits  of  which  I 
now  reap  daily. 

About  that  time  it  pleased  God  to 
afflict  me  with  the  small-pox,  which 
brought  on  a  long  and  painful  illness, 
and  for  eighteen  months  together,  my 
life  was  supposed  to  be  in  danger,  dur- 
ing which  time  I  forgot  what  I  had  for- 
merly learned;  the  sight  of  my  left  eye 
was  also  injured,  and  I  lost  the  use  of « 
speech,  but  through  the  blessing  of  God, 
I  was  gradually  restored  to  the  use  of 
both.  The  latter,  however,  has  always 
continued  in  a  measure  defective,  and 
even  at  present,  in  reading  a  long  con- 
tinued sentence,  I  experience  some  de- 
gree of  hesitation.  This  formerly  has 
been  a  source  of  grief  to  me,  but  blessed 
be  God,  for  ther^  last  twelve  years, 
I  have  seen  the  wisdom  and  goodness 
of  the  Lord  in  this  fatherly  chastise- 
ment,* and  I  shall,  I  trust,  have  reason 

*  This  circumstance  mil  be  refwrecl  to  an,4  explained  hi 

Chap,  in. 


£0        The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

to  say  through  eternity,  that  "this  light 
affliction  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  has 
worked  out  for  me  a  far  more  exceeding 
and  eternal  weight  of  glory,"  2  Cor. 
iv,  17. 

On  my  recovery  I  was  again  instructed 
in  the  section  out  of  the  law  appointed 
for  the  week,  with  the  explanation  of 
Rabbi  Solomon  Yarchi,  and  was  also 
taught  a  chapter  every  day  out  of  the 
former  prophets,  and  Hagiographa,  but 
never  was  any  part  of  the  latter  prophets, 

l  except  what  is  contained  in  the  Haphto- 
roth,  explained  to  me;  no  wonder  there- 
fore, that  I  was  ignorant  of  what  they 
had  written  concerning  the  Messiah. 
The  Jews  have  a  tradition  that,  when 
Antiochuth  Epiphanes  prohibited  the 
reading  of  the  law,  they  substituted  fifty- 
four  chapters  or  portions  out  of  the  other 
writings  of  the  Old  Testament,  which 
they  call  Haphtoroth,  one  of  which  is 
still  read  every  Sabbath  day  after  the 
Section  of  the  law  is  finished.  I  have 
often  been  surprised,  that  in  the  choice 
of  these  Haphtoroth,  those  parts  which 
speak  the  plainest  respecting  the  Mes- 

1  siah  are  left  out,  especially  as  the  52d 


a  Converted  Jew.  21 

and  54th  chapters  of  Isaiah  are  appoint- 
ed, but  the  three  last  verses  of  the  52d 
chapter,  and  the  whole  of  the  53d  are 
skipped  over.  The  only  reason  I  can 
assign,  is,  that  the  people  might  be  kept 
in  ignorance  of  Him  of  whom  Moses 
and  the  prophets  spake,  and  of  whom  it 
is  written  in  the  Book  of  Psalms. 

The  omission  of  so  many  precious 
and  most  important  portions  of  the  writ- 
ings of  the  holy  prophets,  as  the  7th, 
9th,  and  53d  chapters  of  Isaiah;  the  23d 
chap,  of  Jeremiah,  and  the  whole  book 
of  Daniel,  particularly  the  9th  chapter, 
has  led  me,  among  other  reasons  taken 
notice  of  by  Vitringa,*  to  suspect  the 
truth  of  the  antiquity  of  the  choice  of 
the  Haphtoroth.  I  am  rather  inclined 
to  think,  that  at  a  much  later  date,  to 
prevent  the  people  from  reading  the 
whole  Bible,  this  method  has  been 
adopted.  Hence  we  find  most  Jewish 
families  in  the  possession  only  of  that 
Hebrew  Bible  which  contains  no  more 
than  the  five  books  of  Moses,  the 
Haphtoroth  for  the  Sabbath  and  festival 

*  Yitriaga,  <Ie  Synag,  Tctere,  lib.  in.  p.  ii,  c.  xi.  p.  19QT^ 


22         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

days,  and  five  books  out  of  the  Hagio- 
grapha,  namely,  the  Song  of  Solomon, 
Ruth,  Lamentations,  Ecclesiastes,  and 
Esther.  This  may  be  considered  as 
one  great  cause  why  so  very  few  of  the 
children  of  Israel  know  any  thing  of-so 
great  and  useful  a  part  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures. 

That  the  Rabbies  studiously  prevent 
the  people  from  becoming  acquainted 
with  the  predictions  of  the  Messiah/ 
may  be  farther  proved  by  the  impious 
circumstances  recorded  by  several  Jew. 
ish  writers,*  that  the  following  curse  is 
denounced  in  the  name  of  Rabbi  Yona- 
than,  a  great  man  amongst  the  Jews, 
against  the  computers  of  the  seventy 
weeks  in  the  ninth  chapter  of  Daniel — 
"Let  their  bones  rot  who  compute  the 
times  of  the  end."  My  dear  brethren, 
I  beseech  you,  if  you  love  your  souls,  if 
you  wish  to  be  really  happy,  let  nothing 
hinder  you  from  "searching  the  Scrip- 
tures, for  in  them  you  think  you  have 

*  Maimonides.  H.  Melachim.  c.  12.  Yad  chazakah.  De 
Reg.  ch.  12.  See  also  Kidder  on  the  Messiah,  P.  I-  p.  29. 
Owen  on  the  Heb  v.  i.  Ex.  p.  175.  This  last  work  by  the 
great  Dr.  Owen,  has  recently  been  published  by  Samuel  T. 
Armstrong,  Boston,  in  four  Volumes,  price  10  dollars. 


a  Converted  Jew."  23 

eternal  life,  and  they  are  they  which  tes- 
tify of  the  Messiah,"  John  v,39. 

When  I  was  nine  years  old,  the  holy 
book  of  God  was  shut  up  and  laid  aside, 
and  in  its  stead  the  productions  of  men? 
as  the  Mishnah,  Gemarah,  &c.  were 
brought  forth  and  eagerly  studied  by 
me  in  succession,  with  fresh  pleasure 
and  satisfaction,  for  they  were  nourish- 
ment to  my  earthly  and  sensual  affec- 
tions, and  fuel  to  my  corrupt  heart;  and 
thus  was  I  for  four  years  longer,  ab- 
sorbed in  vain  speculations,  spending 
my  strength  for  nought*  On  the  first 
Sabbath  after  I  was  thirteen  years  and  a 
3ay  old,  I  read  in  the  synagogue,  accord- 
ing to  custom,  the  section  of  the  law  ap- 
pointed for  the  day,  which  happened  to 
:>e  the  second,  called  Noach. 

When  a  Jewish  boy  has  arrived  at  the 
xge  of  thirteen  years  and  a  day,  he  is 
:onsidered  a  man,  fit  to  be  one  cf  the 
en  necessary  to  constitute  a  full  num- 
ber for  public  worship.  He  is  now 
obliged  to  observe  the  precepts  for  him- 
ielf,  and  is  no  longer  considered  under 
he  power  of  his  father.  He  is  also  ac- 
counted  of  age  to  manage  business,  and 


24         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

his  contracts  arc  valid.  I  was  now  ar- 
rived at  that  period  of  life  in  which  it  is 
usual  with  the  Jews  to  decide  whether  a 
person  will  engage  in  business,  or  qual- 
ify himself  further  for  any  religious 
office.  Having  chosen  the  latter,  I  con- 
tiqiied  five  years  longer  in  the  study  of 
the  Talmud  and  its  various  commen- 
tators. 


CHAR  II. 

RELIGIOUS    OFFICES    WHICH    HI    SUS- 
TAINED   AMONGST    THE    JEWS. 

Having  attained  the  age  of  eighteert, 
I  went,  by  the  consent  of  my  parents,  to 
Hesse,  as  a  tutor,  and  during  the  three 
following  years,  I  instructed  six  children 
in  reading  Hebrew,  and  understanding 
the  literal  meaning  of  the  five  books  of 
Moses,  together  with  some  parts  of  the 
Mishna,  and  also  in  writing  and  arith 
metic:  in  these  occupations  I  was  em 
ployed  only  six  hours  in  the  day,  and 
the  remainder  of  my  time  I  was  often 
at  a  loss  how  to  spend.  O  that  I  had  then 
known  the  value  of  time,  and  improved 


a  Converted  Jew.  25 

it  suitably.  Lord,  remember  not  this 
sin  of  my  youth,  and  may  I  henceforth 
redeem  time  for  it  is  short.  Besides 
free  board  and  lodging,  I  received  tour 
guineas  per  quarter,  with  which  in  Ger- 
many a  person  can  live  better  than  with 
ten  guineas  in  England.  Thus  I  ■  bought 
myself  "rich  and  increased  with  goods, 
and  had  need  of  nothing,  not  knowing 
that  I  was  wretched^and  miserable,  and 
poor,  and  blind,  and  naked,"  Rev.  iii,17. 
At  the  age  of  twenty- one  I  receiyed 
a  second  honorary  degree  to  be  a  leader 
of  the  synagogue,  to  read  the  public 
prayers  and  the  law  of  Moses.  At  this 
I  period  I  was  much  esteemed  amongst 
my  brethren,  but  the  pride  of  my  heart 
was  not  satisfied;  I  therefore  took  great 
pains,  and  spent  a  whole  year  in  obtain- 
ing the  knowledge  of  the  Jewish  method 
of  preparing  the  knife  for  killing  fowls 
or  beasts,  and  of  the  nature  of  the  lungs. 
None  but  those  who  have  learned  these 
ceremonies  can  judge  how  difficult  they 
are  to  be  acquired,  so  as  to  be  master  of 
them  all.  At  length  I  likewise  obtained 
this  degree  of  honor  from  the  Riy  or 
Rabbi,  of  Hesse  Cassel. 


26         The  Life  of  Mr.  Fret/, 

In  the  use  of  these  ceremonious  ob- 
servances I  was  extremely  strict,  al- 
though not  one  of  them  is  to  be  found 
expressed  in  the  whole  Book  of  God, 
but  these  are  only  afezv  of  the  innume- 
rable, vain  and  extremely  burdensome 
traditions,  received  of  the  fathers.  O 
blessed  Jesus!  thy  yoke  is  easy,  and  thy 
burden  is  light,  for  by  thee  the  weary 
and  heavy  laden  find  rest.  Happy, 
thrice  happy  those  who  are  brought  into 
the  holy  liberty  of  thy  glorious  and  ev- 
erlasting Gospel. 

About  this  time  my  mother  entered 
into  a  large  concern  of  business, — tfcat 
of  sending  corn  to  the  Prussian  army, 
then  at  Frankfort  on  the  Maine;  she 
wished  therefore  very  much  for  my  as- 
sistance at  home,  and  I  consequently 
complied  with  her  desire  for  my  return. 
Having  but  little  skill  or  pleasure  in 
trade,  I  soon  left  my  father's  house  the 
second  time,  and  again  went  ence  more 
to  Hesse.  Oh  the  day  of  my  departure 
my  dear  father  accompanied  me  a  little 
way  out  of  the  town,  and  at  the  moment 
of  parting,  he  laid  his  hands  upon  my 
head  to  give  me  the  last  blessing, 


a  Converted  Jetv.  *£? 

words  he  made  use  of  on  this  solemn 
occasion  will  never  be  forgotten  by  me; 
they  were  these:  "The  Angel  of  the  cov- 
enant be  with  thee.'*  Blessed,  for  ever 
blessed,  be  that  Angel  who  has  made  an 
everlasting  covenant  with  me,  ever  to  be 
remembered* 

As  I  had  saved  some  money  in  the 
preceding  years,  I  resolved  to  travel, 
and  accordingly  made  a  tour  through 
Westphalia  to  the  borders  of  Hollandf 
and  then  back  again  to  Goettingen, 
Hanover,  and  "Hamburgh,  remaining 
about  nine  weeks  in  the  last  place,  or 
rather  at  Altona,  staying  in  the  Uouse  of 
a  Jew,  where  strangers  lodged,  and  a 
great  number  of  Jews  resorted. 

Frequently  I  expressed  my  desire  of 
entering  again  into  a  situation  where  I 
might  officiate  in  the  stations  which  I 
had  formerly  filled.  Several  opportuni- 
ties offered  themselves,  but  they  were 
not  suitable  to  me,  for  I  was  generally 
considered  as  a  Pharisee,  on  account  of 
my  strict  adherence  to  the  ceremonies 
in  which  I  was  brought  up,  which  made 
me  consider  most  of  my  brethren  in 
that  place  as  being  neither  Jews  nor 
Christians, 


28         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

One  day,  a  Jew  came  to  inform  mea 
that  he  had  received  a  letter  from  a 
friend  desiring  him  to  find  a  suitable 
instructor  for  his  children;  having  heard 
me  read  a  portion  in  the  Bible,  he  asked 
me  some  questions  out  of  the  Talmud, 
and  also  concerning  my  knowledge  of 
arithmetic;  and  having  seen  some  speci- 
mens of  my  writing,  "you  are  the  man,5' 
said  he,  "that  will  suit  my  friend;"  and 
accordingly  he  wrote  a  letter  of  recom- 
mendation in  my  favor  to  a  Jew  at  Meck- 
lenburgh  Schvverin,  and  for  his  kind- 
ness, I  presented  him  with  five  dollars, 
The  next  day  I  left  Hamburgh,  and  af- 
ter three  days  arrived  safely  at  Schwerin. 

No  sooner  had  I  delivered  the  letter 
of  recommendation,  than  I  experienced 
a  great  disappointment  as  well  as  sur- 
prise; for  the  good  old  man,  to  whom  it 
was  addressed,  having  read  it,  loosed  at 
me  with  sorrow  and  said,  "I  have  no 
children,  what  shall  I  do  with  a  teacher? 
I  regret  extremely  that  you  are  so  de- 
ceived." This  was  the  "first  time  that  I 
had  been  deceived  by  a  Jew.  The 
words  of  David  immediately  came  into 
my  mind,  "It  was  not  an  enemy  that 


a  Converted  Jew.  ii(i 

reproached  me,  then  I  could  have  borne 
it,"  Psalm  iv,  12.  But,  blessed  be  God, 
I  may  now  express  myself  in  the  words 
of  Joseph.  "He  thought  evil  against 
me,  but  God  meant  it  unto  good,  to 
bring  to  pass,  as  it  is  this  day,  to  save 
my  soul  alive,"  Gen.  i,  20. 

Amongst  the  passengers  with  whom 
I  had  travelled  from  Hamburgh  to 
Schwerin,  was  a  young  Jewish  tutor 
and  a  Christian,  who  I  believe  was  a 
traveller  to  a  tobacco  manufactury  in 
Hamburgh.  The  latter  observed  a  great 
difference  in  our  conduct;  for  my  brother 
Jew  plainly  declared  by  his  actions  that 
he  had  freed  himself  from  the  restraint 
of  the  Jewish  ceremonies,  instituted  by 
God  himself,  as  well  as  from  the  nume- 
rous burdens  laid  upon  us  by  the  Rab- 
bies.  He  ate  and  drank  freely  of  every 
thing  that  was  set  before  him,  asking  no 
questions  whatever  concerning  it;  whilst, 
on  the  contrary,  I,  according  to  my  edu- 
cation, ate  scarcely  any  thing  but  bread 
and  butter,  and  that  only  cut  with  my 
own  knife,  during  the  whole  journey* 
Our  companion,  the  Christian,  said,  "if 

vou   will  give  me  leave,  I  will  deliver 
#3 


SO  The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

my  opinion  concerning  the  different 
manner  in  which  you  act,  both  profes- 
sing to  be  Jews — You,"  said  he  to  my 
companion,  "are  neither  a  Jew  nor  a 
Christian,  neither  cold  nor  hot.  If  you 
think  yourself  freed  from  the  Jewish 
ceremonies  you  should  become  a  Chris- 
tian. 5r  To  me,  he  said,  "I  am  sorry  to 
see  you  chastening  yourself,  and  so 
much  troubled  with  the  burdens  which 
your  father's  were  never  able  to  bear, 
and  which  you  need  not  to  observe;  for,'' 
said  he  in  continuance,  "the  ceremonial 
law  is  fulfilled  and  taken  away  by  the 
Messiah  Jesus,  and  a  new  covenant  is 
made,  as  it  was  foretold  by  the  Prophet 
Jeremiah,'?  (Chap,  xxxu  3 1—33. )  "Be- 
hold the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that 
I  will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the 
house  of  Israel,  and  with  the  house  of 
Judah:  not  according  to  the  covenant 
that  I  made  with  their  fathers,  in  the 
day  that  I  took  them  by  the  hand,  to 
bring  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt- 
which  my  covenant  they  brake,  although 
I  was  a  husband  to  them,  saith  the  Lord: 
but  this  shall  be  the  covenant,  that  I 
will    make  with  the  house    of  Is: 


. 


a  Converted  Jew.  £1 


fter  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will 
write  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and 
write  it  in  their  hearts;  and  will  be  their 
God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people." 
These  words  I  had  never  heard  before, 
the  prophets  being  seldom  read,  as  ob- 
served above. 

This  conversation  took  place  on  the 
day  on  which  we  reached  Schwerin.  I 
took  an  affectionate  leave  of  my  kind 
friend  the  Christian,  without  any  pros- 
pect of  seeing  him  again.  But  being 
disappointed  in  my  expectation  of  ob- 
taining a  situation  with  the  Jewish  fam- 
ily, as  before  related,  I  determined  to 
leave  that  place  the  next  day,  and  ac- 
cordingly went  by  the  conveyance  of 
the  stage  coach  to  Gistrow,  when,  by 
the  kind  providence  of  God,  I  again 
met  with  my  fellow  traveller,  the  same 
Christian  friend.  Having  told  him  my 
disappointment,  he  shewed  much  sym- 
pathy, and  sought  to  comfort  me,  say- 
ing, 4iPut  your  trust  in  the  God  of  Isra- 
el, and  he  will  never  suffer  you  to  be 
moved." 

Having  reached  Gistrow,  I  went  to 
the  synagogue,  it  being  Friday  evenings 


32         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

where  I  was  soon  observed  as  a  stran- 
ger, and  was  invited  to  supper  by  the 
most  honorable  Jew  in  the  place,  who, 
knowing  my  father  and  connexions,  was 
extremely  kind  to  me,  and  desired  that 
I  would  dine  with  him  the  next  day.  I 
stayed  at  the  same  inn  with  my  Chris- 
tian friend.  My  soul  was  disquieted 
within  me  all  the  night.  Early  in  fhe 
morning  my  friend  went  into  the  city  oa 
his  business.  Soon  after  he  was  gone, 
all  that  he  had  said  to  me  came  suddenly 
into  my  mind  with  great  force,  and  his 
kind  and  affectionate  behavior,  contrast- 
ed with  the  shameful  conduct  of  my 
brother  the  Jew,  had  such  an  influence 
on  my  mind,  that  I  immediately  sat 
down  and  wrote  a  letter  to  him,  intima- 
ting, I  would  travel  in  his  company  to 
Berlin,  in  order  to  inquire  into  the  truth 
of  Christianity.  Having  written  this 
letter  and  sealed  it,  I  left  it  for  him  in 
the  inn,  and  went  into  the  synagogue, 
without  thinking,  for  a  moment  on  the 
great  sin,  which  I  had  committed  (ac- 
cording to  the  Jewish  traditions)  in  wri- 
ting and  scaling  a  letter  on  the  Sabbath 
day. 


a  Converted  Jew.  33 

On  my  return  from  the  synagogue,  I 
was  informed  that  my  Christian  friend 
had  left  the  place,  and  since  that  time  I 
never  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him. 
My  conscience  was  now  awakened,  and 
it  loudly  told  me  that  I  was  no  longer  a 
Jew,  for  that  I  had  broken  the  Sabbath. 

Hitherto  I  had  been  a  self-righteous 
Pharisee  in  my  own  estimation,  but  now 
it  pleased  God  to  take  at  once  every  plea 
of  merit  from  me,  by  convincing  me  of 
this  one  single  sin.  Now  I  found  the 
truth  of  those  words,  "A  wounded  spirit 
who  can  bear?" 

All  the  kindness  which  my  Jewish 
friend  had  shewn  me  on  the  preceding 
evening,  could  not  influence  me  to  go 
again  to  his  house.  I  shut  myself  up  in 
my  chamber  until  the  next  morning, 
when  I  went  by  the  stage  coach  to  Ros- 
tock, in  the  hope  of  finding  my  Chris- 
tian friend.  From  this  time  I  must  date 
the  commencement  of  a  new  period  in 
my  life. 


34         The  Life  of  Mr.  Trey, 
CHAP.  III. 

TIME    AND    PLACE    OF    HIS     £HBRA€« 
ING    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION. 

On  my  arrival  at  Rostock  I  went  to 
the  inn  nearest  the  coach  office,  to  in- 
quire for  my  friend,  but  was  disap- 
pointed in  not  hearing  any  thing  of 
him. 

Having  been  informed  that  no  Jew 
was  allowed  to  remain  in  that  town  for 
a  single  night  without  liberty  from  the 
magistrate,  for  which  a  certain  sum  was 
to  be  paid;  I  told  the  landlord,  that  be- 
ing born  a  Jew,  I  was  under  the  neces- 
sity of  having  this  license;  but  that  I 
wished  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of 
Christianity,  and  to  embrace  that  reli- 
gion, if  I  should  be  convinced  of  its 
veracity.  On  heaping  this,  he  immedi- 
ately promised  me  every  assistance,  and 
the  next  day  he  went  with  me  to  a  min- 
ister of  the  Gospel,  who  examined  me 
concerning  my  knowledge  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  and  of  the  motives  which  in- 
duced me  to  renounce  Judaism.  Hav- 
ing found  that  I  could  produce  no  other 


a  Converted  Jew.  35 

proof  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  than 
Jacob's  prediction,  Gen.  xlix,  10,  "The 
sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah  nor 
a  law-giver  from  between  his  feet  till 
Shiloh  conies,  and  to  him  shall  the 
gathering  of  the  people  be,"  he  sus- 
pected my  motives  to  be  worldly.  How- 
ever, he  did  not  altogether  discourage 
met  but  went  with  me  to  some  other 
ministers,  and  stated  my  request  to  the 
magistrate  of  Rostock,  before  whom  I 
was  shortly  after  summoned  to  appear, 
where  I  was  strictly  examined,  and  my 
testimonies  were  approved;  but  they 
told  me  that  there  had  been  many  Jews 
who  had  embraced  Christianity  only  for 
secular  advantages,  and  lived  afterwards 
as  heathens,  which  had  made  them  very 
cautious  of  receiving  any,  before  they 
were  thoroughly  convinced  of  their  sin- 
cerity. 

In  order  to  convince  them  that  I 
sought  nothing  but  the  truth,  I  promised 
not  to  receive  the  least  emolument  from 
any  Christian,  but  to  learn  a  trade,  that 
I  might  obtain  my  daily  bread  by  the 
labor  of  my  own  hands.  About  a  fort- 
night after  this  I  received  their  resolu- 
tion, which  was,  that  I  should  apply  to 


36         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

the  ministers  of  three  neighboring  towns, 
and  if  none  of  them  would  receive  me, 
I  should  return  again,  and  they  would 
assist  me  in  my  undertaking. 

Accordingly  I  went  to  Wismar,  where 
I  met  with  Dr.  Haupt,  minister  of  the 
Marian  Church,  who  very  kindly  recom- 
mended me  to  a  shoemaker,  to  whom  I 
was  bound  apprentice  for  three  years. 
In  the  mean  time  I  went  twice  every 
week  to  this  minister  for  instruction, 
and  spent  as  much  time  at  home  as  I 
could  spare  from  my  employment,  in 
comparing  the  German  translation  with 
the  Hebrew  Bible,  and  in  reading  the 
New  Testament,  which  I  had  never  seen 
before. 

My  judgment  was  soon  convinced 
that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  the  Messiah, 
and  that  his  doctrine  brings  much  greater 
glory  to  God,  and  peace  and  good  will 
towards  men,  than  that  of  Moses. 

At  this  early  period  I  began  to  expe- 
rience the  truth  of  those  words  of  my 
blessed  Redeemer,  "He  that  will  be  my 
disciple  must  deny  himself,  and  take  up 
his  cross  and  follow  me.'5     The  reader 

y  possibly  expect  that  my  persecu- 


a  Converted  Jew.  37 

tions  arose  from  my  own  brethren  the 
Jews:  this  was  not,  however,  the  case, 
for  there  were  no  Jews  living  in  that 
town.  But  what  is  worse,  many  who 
called  themselves  Christians,  said  con- 
tinually to  me,  "You  will  certainly  give 
up  your  new  profession  of  faith,  as  soon 
as  you  have  made  your  fortune  amongst 
us."  Such  words  as  these  often  pierced 
my  heart  sharper  than  a  two  edged 
sword,  especially  when  comparing  the 
state  of  worldly  prosperity  enjoyed  by 
my  parents,  and  the  credit  and  honor 
which  I  had  acquired  amongst  the  Jews, 
with  the  low  and  miserable  condition  in 
which  I  now  found  myself  as  an  appren- 
tice. I  cannot  but  mention  a  few  par- 
ticulars respecting  my  sufferings  in  the 
house  of  my  master,  that  the  Lord  may 
be  glorified,  by  whose  grace  alone  I  was 
enabled  to  sustain  them  patiently.  My 
master's  wife  had  for  the  last  eight  years 
been  afflicted  with  melancholy,  which 
had  been  the  means  of  reducing  him  to 
poverty.  By  sad  experience,  I  found, 
that  no  plentiful  table  was  to  be  my  por- 
tion; but  what  cannot  necessity  teach  a 
4 


38         The  Life  of  Mr.  Fref, 

man  to  suffer,  although  he  had  been  un- 
accustomed to  it  before! 

My  natural  pride  was  exceedingly 
humbled,  by  the  authority  assumed  over 
me  by  my  master's  daughter,  who  was 
only  fourteen  years  of  age,  whereas  I 
was  now  five  and  twenty,  having  spent 
the  preceding  time  in  so  respectable  a 
situation  amongst  my  own  people,  with 
whom  I  had  very  little  doubt,  if  I  had 
then  gone  back  to  them,  I  could  have 
gained  one  equally  good.  These  things 
were  not  pleasant  to  the  flesh,  but  griev- 
ous; however,  blessed  be  the  Lord,  by 
whose  grace  they  were  made  to  produce 
the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness. 

At  the  expiration  of  eighteen  months, 
my  master  was  obliged  to  give  up  the 
business,  upon  which  a  new  difficulty 
arose;  the  minister  would  not  receivev 
me  as  a  member  of  the  church  until  I 
should  have  completed  my  apprentice- 
ship with  another  master:  but  the  trade 
would  not  allow  any  other  master  to  re- 
ceive me  before  I  was  baptized.  The 
reason  which  they  assigned  was,  that  no 
apprentice  is  allowed  to  stay  longer  than 
three  months  with  a  master,  without 


a  Converted  Jew.  Si) 

having  his  name  regularly  registered  in 
the  book  belonging  to  that  trade;  but  as 
no  Jew  could  be  bound  apprentice  in 
Germany,  my  name  could  not  be  regis- 
tered till  after  I  had  been  baptized. 
Thus  was  I  left  almost  without  a  single 
friend,  in  a  strange  place. 

At  that  time  a  band  of  players  was  at 
Wismar,  and  in  order  to  gain  support, 
without  being  burdensome  to  society,  I 
transcribed  the  parts  which  they  had  to 
act  for  about  two  months.  The  master 
of  the  band  was  much  taken  with  me, 
and  had  it  not  been  for  the  impediment 
in  my  speech,  caused  by  the  small-pox, 
would  have  engaged  me  as  an  actor;  but 
God  in  his  abundant  mercy  and  gracious 
dealings  with  me,  a  poor  sinner,  broke 
this  snare  also. 

By  the  kind  orderings  of  providence, 
I  met  with  a  gentleman  named  Matthias 
van  Gilben;  who  advised  me  to  go  to 
New  Brandenburgh,  in  Mecklenburgh 
Strelhz,  where  he  was  acquainted  with  a 
minister  who  would  receive  me,  and  to 
whom  he  gave  me  a  letter  of  recom- 
mendation; I  therefore  took  my  leave  of 
the  minister  at  Wismar,  and  proceeded 


40         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

to  New  Brandenburgh,  and  in  my  way 
thither,  in  every  town,  where  I  came,  I 
waited  upon  the  ministers,  who  all  sev- 
erally wished  me  well,  but  were  not 
willing  to  do  any  thing  in  my  favor. 
How  few,  alas,  are  those  who  seek  the 
salvation  of  Israel!  When  I  reached  the 
place  of  my  destination,  I  delivered  my 
letter  to  the  Lutheran  minister,  Mr. 
Cortum,  who  received  me  kindly,  and 
gave  me  effectual  assistance.  I  was 
again  bound  to  a  shoemaker  for  one 
year  and  a  half,  and  went,  as  formerly, 
twice  a  week,  to  the  minister,  for  in- 
struction. 

On  the  8th  of  May,  1798,  I  was  bap- 
tized publicly,  and  received  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  protestant  church.  It  has 
always  been  the  custom,  that  at  the 
baptism  of  a  Jew,  some  respectable 
persons  should  stand  godfathers,  who 
make  him  many  presents;  but  I  refused 
to  receive  any,  as  another  proof  that  I 
did  not  embrace  Christianity  for  the  sake 
of  worldly  gain.  It  is  also  a  practice  in 
Germany,  and  which  has  been  of  long 
standing,  for  a  converted  Jew  to  receive 
new  names  when  baptized;  therefore, 
upon  this  occasion,  the  minister  having 


a  Converted  Jew.  41 

preached  from  John  viii,  32,  36.  "And 
ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth 
shall  make  you  free.  If  the  Son  there- 
fore,  shall  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be 
free  indeed;"  he  gave  me  for  a  new 
surname  Frey*  which  signifies  the  same 
as  free  in  English,  but  in  the  German 
language  it  is  pronounced  like  Fry. 
Many  in  this  country,  attending  more 
to  the  origin  and  signification  than  to 
the  spelling  of  my  name,  pronounce  it 
generally  as  if  written  Free.  He  like- 
wise added  to  my  former  name — Joseph 
Samuel,  those  of  Christian  Frederick. 
the  former  expressive  of  the  religion  I 
embraced,  the  latter  of  his  good  wishes, 
namely,  that  I  might  be  rich  in  peace. 

Thus  I  was  received  into  the  pale  of 
the  Christian  church,  having  an  estab- 
lished belief  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah, 
and  that  there  was  no  salvation  but  in  him; 
nevertheless,  I  acknowledge  with  shame, 
that  I  had  neither  a  clear  perception  of 
the  spirituality  of  the  law,  nor  of  the  na- 
ture of  the  offices  sustained  by,  and  the 
benefits  to  be  derived  from,  Christ, 

*In  this  country  the  uame  is  pronounced  as  if  writtei 

Fray, 

*4 


42  The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

A  few  months  after  this,  my  appren- 
ticeship expired,  and  I  was  at  liberty  to 
go  as  a  Journeyman.  It  was  therefore 
my  intention  to  accompany  another 
young  man,  of  the  same  trade,  to  Ros- 
tock, where  I  had  first  expressed  my 
wish  of  embracing  Christianity;  but 
God,  in  his  gracious  designs  of  provi- 
dence, had  appointed  another  place  for 
me,  where  I  should  be  led  to  a  fuller 
discovery  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ 
Jesus,  which  I  shall  relate  in  the  follow- 
ing chapter. 

CHAP.  IV. 

REMARKABLE  CIRCUMSTANCES  WHICH 
LED  HIM  TO  A  FARTHER  ACQUAIN- 
TANCE   WITH    DIVINE     TRUTH. 

Two  days  before  the  time  on  which  we 
proposed  to  leave  New  Brandenburgh, 
my  companion  wounded  his  hand  in 
such  a  manner,  that  he  was  obliged  to 
give  up  all  thoughts  of  the  journey. 
As  I  hud  given  notice  to  my  master  of 
my  intention  to  leave  him,  I  did  not 
choose  to  remain  there  any  longer,  and 
therefore    removed  to   the  next   town, 


a  Converted  Jew.  43 

which  was  Prentzlow,  in  Prussia,  where 
I  arrived  on  the  24th  of  December, 
The  weather  was  exceedingly  cold,  and 
there  were  many  journeymen,  but  little 
work,  I  however,  not  only  found  em- 
ployment, bat  was  settled  in  the  best 
situation  in  the  whole  town:  thus  al- 
though but  lately  out  of  my  apprentice- 
ship, the  Lord  gave  me  success,  and 
greatly  blessed  the  work  of  my  hands. 
Surely  goodness  and  mercy  have  fol- 
lowed me  all  the  days  of  my  life.  O 
that  1  could  praise  God  for  his  loving 
kindness  and  tender  mercies! 

In  this  situation  I  met  with  so  much 
envy  and  ill  will  from  the  journeymen, 
that  I  was  obliged  to  change  it  for 
another,  not  so  good  in  point  of  wages, 
and  much  more  laborious,  but  it  proved 
more  profitable  to  the  welfare  of  my 
soul.  For  here  I  first  learned  to  bow 
my  heart  as  well  as  my  knees  before  Je- 
hovah, and  prayed  for  the  fii  st  time  in 
spirit  and  in  truth. 

A  few  weeks  before  Easter,  the  same 
gentleman,  (Mr.  Matthias  va;i  Gilben,) 
who  so  effectually  recommended  me  to 
the  minister  at  New  Brandenburgh,  paid 


44         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

me  a  visit,  and  made  me  a  present,  say- 
ine,  "Buy  yourself  an  apron  with  this 
money,  and  uear  it  as  a  remembrance 
of  your  friend  till  I  see  you  again;"  ac- 
cordingly I  went  with  his  son  to  a  tan- 
ner, of  the  name  of  Michaelis.  I  have 
ever  found  pleasure  in  remarking  the 
ways  of  Providence,  and  now  that  I 
know  more  of  that  God  who  alone  or- 
ders all  things  according  to  his  own 
will,  my  delight  is  still  greater,  in  look- 
ing back  to  the  ways  in  which  he  has  so 
graciously  led  me,  even  to  the  present 
hour.  We  passed  by  several  tanners* 
shops,  as  1  saw  afterwards,  in  going  to 
Michaelis,  whom  I  asked  for  an  apron, 
and  when  he  told  me  the  price,  said, 
"Is  not  that  too  much?  for  I  know  the 
Value  of  these  things."  "How  came 
you  to  know  it?"  asked  he.  I  answer- 
ed, "When  I  was  a  Jew,  I  lived  in  a 
family  where  such  skins  were  sold." 
•'So,"  replied  Michaelis,  "and  what  are 
you  now,  a  Christian?"  "Yes,"  said  I, 
with  the  greatest  confidence.  He  asked 
further,  "In  what  manner  do  j  ou  live?" 
This  was  indeed  a  strange  question,  for 
I  had  never  perceived  that  there  were 


a  Converted  Jew.  45 

any  different  modes  of  living,  or  con- 
versation, amongst  Christians.  "I  live,'* 
said  I,  "as  all  the  shoemakers'  journey- 
men live;  once  every  Sunday  I  go  to 
Church;  and  after  service  you  know  the 
young  men  cannot  be  at  home  at  their 
masters'  houses,  where  they  lodge  and 
board  in  the  week,  but  must  go  to  the 
inn,  or  house  of  call,  where  I  spend  the 
remainder  of  the  Sabbath,  and  usually 
continue  till  Monday  evening,  playing 
at  cards,  and  sometimes  dancing  with 
them;  but  the  other  days  in  the  week  I 
am  very  diligent  in  my  work."  "I  am 
soiry,"  replied  Michaelis,  "as  you  pro- 
fess to  be  a  Christian,  that  you  do  not 
manifest  it  in  a  diffi  reqt  manner."  To 
which  I  answered,  "I  have  no  friends  or 
acquaintance  here,  therefore  I  must  go 
to  the  mn,  and  being  amongst  the  other 
journeymen,  I  must  join  in  their  man- 
ner of  life,  else  I  shall  be  laughed  at,  and 
ridiculed  by  them  all."  Michaelis  then 
said  with  great  kindness,  "you  may 
come  to-morrow  afternoon,  at  five 
o'clock,  to  the  house  cf  Mr.  Thorman, 
where  several  friends  meet;  you  will  be« 
come  acquainted   with   them,  and  have 


46  The  Life  of  Mr.  Freij, 

an  opportunity  of  spending  your  time 
on  the  Sabbath  at  their  houses. n  Mi. 
chaelis  also  made  me  a  present  of  the 
Life  of  Solomon  Duitch,  a  converted 
Jew,  which  I  found  exceedingly  useful. 

Following  the  bent  of  my  natural  cu- 
riosity, 1  promised  to  go  there  the  next 
dd\\  this  conversation,  happening  on  a 
Saturday;  on  my  return  home,  I  in- 
quired of  my  master's  wife  whether  she 
knew  Mr.  Thorman,  at  whose  house 
some  friends  met  every  Lord's  day. 
Sne  could  not  speak  evil  of  them,  yet 
was  unwilling  to  speak  well,  therefore 
she  only  said,  "it  is  a  society  of  praying 
brethren." 

Early  on  the  following  morning,  the 
appointed  d,iy  in  which  God  designed 
most  graciously  to  strip  me  of  my  own 
self-righteousness,  and  clothe  me  with 
the  righteousness  of  his  dear  Son,  and 
to  adorn  me  with  the  garments  of  sal- 
vation, I  felt  my  mind  so  uneasy  that  I 
could  not  remain  in  bed.  I  arose,  but 
the  family  being  all  asleep,  I  knew  not 
what  to  do;  in  the  mean  time  I  heard 
an  organ,  belonging  to  the  church  which 
was  near  the  place  of  my  abode.    I  im- 


a  Converted  Jew.  47 

mediately   went   thither,    but   scarcely 
knevv  why. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Wolfe  was  on  that 
morning  confirming  a  great  numher  of 
children;  at  the  conclusion  of  die  cere- 
mony he  addressed  them  and  said, 
"My  dear  children,  I  am  afraid  that 
some  of  you  will  soon  return  ag<dn  into 
the  broad  road  which  leadeth  to  destruc- 
tion, but  my  wish  before  God  for  you 
is,  that  you  may  be  saved;  I  would 
therefore  recommend  to  you  the  follow- 
ing passage  of  the  Holy  Scripture,  Job 
xxvii,  6;  "My  heart  shaJl  not  reproach 
me  as  long  as  I  live,"  or  as  he  repeated 
it  from  the  German  Bible,  "My  con- 
science does  not  reprove  me  for  the 
whole  of  my  life."  Compare  this  with 
Acts  xxiv,  16;  "And  herein  do  I  exer- 
cise myself  to  have  always  a  conscience 
void  of  offence  towards  God  and  to- 
wards men."  "My  dear  children,  (said 
he,  with  the  greatest  affection,)  consider 
these  words  at  the  close  of  every  day 
and  examine  whether  your  conscience 
does  not  accuse  you  for  the  day  which 
you  have  past,  and  if  it  does,  be  sure  to 
kneel  down  and  pray  for  the  forgiveness 
of  your  sins  through  Jesus  Christ." 


48  The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

My  dear  reader,  I  must  here  be  per- 
mitted to  pause,  for  it  is  impossible  for 
me  to  express  the  feelings  of  my  heart 
on  hearing  these  words.  I  found  them 
^sharper  than  any  two  edged  sword," 
Heb.  iv,  12,  and  "stronger  than  a  ham- 
mer which  breaketh  the  rocks  in 
pieces,"  Jer.  xxiii,  29;  my  conscience 
accused  me  of  crimes  innumerable,  and 
alas!  "a  wounded  spirit  who  can  bear?" 
I  now  firmly  believed  that  I  had  not 
only  broken  the  double  covenant  as  a 
Jew,  which  was  first  made  with  God  by 
my  parents  at  my  circumcision,  and 
secondly,  by  myself,  when  I  was  thir- 
teen years  old;  but  also  that  covenant 
with  God  in  Christ,  which  I  had  rashly 
made  when  I  was  baptized  and  joined 
to  the  Christian  church. 

It  now  pleased  the  Lord  to  teach  me 
something  of  the  spirituality  of  the  law; 
I  not  only  found  myself  guilty  of  very 
many  sinful  actions  and  words  in  my 
past  life,  but  I  was  also  convinced  that 
"every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of 
xny  heart  was  only  evil  continually," 
Gen,  vi,  5;  mine  eyes  which  were  for- 
merly full  of  lusts,  were  now  overflow- 


ft  Converted  Jew.  49 

ing  with  floods  of  tears;  the  very  ground 
beneath  my  feet  seemed  ready  to  open 
itself  and  swallow  me  up  like  Korah 
and  his  company,  I  thought  that  the 
eyes  of  God  and  of  the  congregation 
were  fixed  upon  me  with  the  greatest 
abhorrence  and  disgust.  I  left  the  place, 
and  entered  for  the  first  lime  into  the 
closet,  and  shut  the  door  behind  me, 
that  I  might  pray  in  secret  to  my  father 
which  is  in  heaven.  But,  alas!  I  knew 
not  how  to  pray,  nor  had  I  confidence 
to  draw  nigh  to  that  God  whom  I  had  so 
often  and  so  greatly  offended.  Several 
passages  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  espe- 
cially Psalm  cxliii,  1,  2, 1  repeated  again 
and  again,  but  found  no  comfort. 

From  personal  experience,  my  dear 
reader,  I  can  say,  that  there  is  nothing 
easier,  than  for  a  natural  man  to  think 
that  God  will  pardon  his  sins  for  some 
imaginary  reason  or  other;  and  nothing 
more  difficult  than  for  a  truly  awakened 
sinner  to  believe  that  God  can  pardon 
his  sins,  and  yet  be  a  holy,  just,  and 
true  God.  It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  any 
means,  although  it  be  our  bounden  duty 
to  use  them  diligently,  either  to  convbtce 
5 


50         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

the  natural  man  that  he  is  a  guilty,  defil- 
ed, and  helpless  sinner,  nor  to  persuade 
the  convinced  sinner  that  the  Almighty 
can  be  a  righteous  God,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  justifier  of  him  that  believeth 
in  Jesus  Both  effects  it  is  the  office  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  produce,  whomaketh 
the  means  graciously  appointed  by  God, 
and  diligently  used  by  man,  effectual  to 
the  salvation  of  the  soul.  He  who  "con- 
vinces the  mind  of  sin,  of  righteousness, 
and  of  judgment,"  must  "also  take  of 
the  things  of  Jesus,  and  shew  them  to 
the  heart  of  the  mourning  sinner."  John 
xiv,  8,  15. 

Having  described  the  circumstances 
which  God  made  to  operate  in  over- 
whelming my  heart  with  godly  sorrow, 
I  proceed  to  mention  the  manner  m 
which  the  Lord  Jesus  gave  rest  to  my 
soul. 

The  reader  will  recollect  the  conver- 
sation which  took  place  between  Mr. 
Michaelis  and  myself  on  the  preceding 
day,  and  his  invitation  to  me,  to  be  at 
five  o'clock  at  Mr.  Thorman's;  at  that 
time  I  had  resolved  to  go  out  of  curi- 
osity, but  now  I  was  like  a  new-born 


a  Converted  Jew.  51 

babe,  desiring  the  sincere  milk  of  the 
word  that  I  might  grow  thereby.  1  Pet. 
ii,  2.  Never  was  a  day  so  long  as  this 
seemed  to  be.  At  length  the  much 
wished  for  hour  approached,  and  I  joy- 
fully hastened  to  meet  the  Christian  So- 
ciety;  but  when  I  reached  the  house, 
the  thunder  and  lightnings  of  Mount 
Sinai  terrified  my  mind  afresh,  and  my 
sins  filled  my  face  with  shame.  All  my 
natural  boldness  was  gone,  and  I  could 
not  look  up  with  confidence  to  the  dear 
friends  assembled  together;  like  one  of 
old,  mine  eyes  were  fixed  to  the  ground, 
and  the  language  of  my  heart  was,  "God 
be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner/'  Luke  xviii, 
13.  But  Mr.  Thorman,  at  whose  house 
the  Society  met,  and  who  had  been  for 
nearly  sixty  years  an  experienced,  use- 
ful, and  faithful  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ, 
received  me  with  the  greatest  affection, 
sympathy,  and  compassion;  and  from 
that  very  moment,  to  the  day  I  left  that 
place,  I  esteemed,  reverenced,  and  trust- 
ed him  as  a  man  of  God. 

Amongst  other  questions,  he  asked 
whether  the  ministers  who  had  instruct- 
ed me  for  three  years,  prayed  with  me 


52        The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

on  their  knees,  lam  sorry  to  say,  that 
my  answer,  dictated  by  truth,  was  a 
negative. 

The  service  now  began  with  singing, 
then  followed  a  short  prayer,  and  after 
that  he  read  a  sermon  on  Isa.  liii,  5; 
"Ke  was  wounded,"  &c,  Jesus  Christ 
was  the  sum  and  substance  of  the  dis- 
course, from  which  I  received  much 
comfort;  then  we  all  kneeled  down,  and 
he  prayed.  More  than  twenty  minutes 
were  spent  in  prayer  for  me,  thanking 
God  for  calling  me  out  of  darkness,  and 
more  particularly  that  it  would  please 
the  Lord  to  make  me  useful  and  faithfuL 

After  the  service  was  concluded,  Mr. 
Thorman  invited  me  to  visit  him  the 
next  day.  I  now  longed  to  retire  to  my 
closet.  On  my  return  to  my  master's 
house,  all  were  surprised,  for  it  was 
quite  a  new  thing  to  see  me  on  a  Sunday 
evening,  and  seldom  on  a  Monday.  I 
told  them  that  I  had  been  at  Mr.  Thor- 
man's  and  wished  rather  to  be  by  myself, 
than  to  go  to  the  house  of  call.  I  asked 
my  master  if  Mr.  Thorman  had  studied. 
"No,"  was  his  reply.  "But  how  is  it 
possible,"  said  I,  4Cthat  a  man  could  pray 


a  Converted  Jew.  53 

so  long  for   me   without  a  book,  and 
without  even  knowing  of  my  coming  to 
him,    and    consequently    he   could  not 
have  studied  the  prayer."     "That  is  no 
wonder,"  said  one  of  the  family,  "these 
people    pray    always."     Immediately  I 
went  into  my  closet,  fell  upon  my  knees, 
and  cried,  "Lord,  teach  me  thus  to  pray," 
After  two  hours  sweet  meditation,  I 
laid  myself  down,   and  slept  under  the 
shadow  of  the  Most  High.     Early  on 
Monday  morning  I  arose  with  an  eager 
desire  to  read  the  Bible;  on  opening  the 
sacred   volume,    my  eye  was  fixed  on 
i  Tim.  i,  15,  "This  is  a  faithful  say- 
ing, and  worthy   of  all  acceptation,  that 
Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save 
sinners;  of  whom  I  am  chief."     Having 
been  used,  as  a  Jewish  teacher,  to  cate- 
chise children,  I  put  the  same  questions 
to  my  own  soul  as  I  would  have  done 
to  a   child  in  the  school:  Who  is  the 
person  spoken  of?  v/as  my  first  inquiry. 
Answer.     Christ  Jesus.     What  did  he 
come  into  the  world  for,  and  where  did 
he  come  from?     A.     From  some-place 
tha.  is  not  in  this  world — from  heaven, 


54         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

Why  did  he  come  into  the  world?  A. 
To  save  sinners.  What  kind  of  sinners? 
A.  Sinners  that  are  in  this  world,  and 
great  sinners  too. 

Whilst  thus  musing  with  myself,  I 
was  enabled  to  conclude  and  believe, 
that  though  I  saw  myself  the  chief  of 
sinners,  yei  Christ  was  able  to  save  me, 
for  he  saved  Paul,  who  called  himself 
the  chief  of  sinners.  From  that  mo- 
ment I  was  led  to  rejoice  in  the  salva- 
tion of  God  my  Savior,  and  felt  th6 
love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  my  heart, 
which  constrained  me  to  vow  an  eternal 
hatred  against  every  sin,  and  to  devote 
myself  to  the  service  of  Him,  who  lived 
and  died  for  sinners.  Never  did  I  enjoy 
an  hour  like  that  morning.  I  generally 
breakfasted  on  Monday  at  the  house  of 
call,  having  spent  the  night  there,  as  I 
observed  before,  but  now  I  went  to  my 
employment  with  pleasure,  and  with  re- 
newed strength. 

My  master  and  his  family  were  sur- 
prised to  see  me  at  work  on  a  Monday, 
and  could  by  no  means  account  for  the 
sudden  change,  not  knowing  that  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  teaches  a  man  to  be 


a  Converted  Jew.  56 

diligent  in  business,  and  fervent  in 
spirit.  In  the  afternoon  two  journey- 
men oame  to  know  why  I  had  not  been 
at  the  house  of  call  on  the  preceding 
d^y.  Being  told  that  I  had  been  with 
Mr.  Thorman,  and  that  I  was  now  hard 
at  work,  singing  psalms,  and  making 
melody  in  my  heart,  they  were  astonish- 
ed at  my  conduct,  and  endeavored  to 
persuade  me  to  go  with  them  to  our  for- 
mer scene  v  of  dissipation.  I  received 
them  affectionately,  and  assured  them  of 
the  unspeakable  happiness  I  now  felt  in 
my  soul,  and  that  I  had  promised  to  go 
again  in  the  evening  to  Mr.  Thorman's. 
Finding  that  they  could  not  prevail  on 
me  by  kindness,  they  began  to  ridicule 
the  society  of  Christians,  with  whom  I 
had  just  formed  an  acquaintance,  ex- 
pressed their  sorrow  for  the  unhappy 
change,  which  as  they  thought,  I  had 
experienced,  and  left  me,  in  the  hope 
that  God  would  deliver  me  from  the 
dangerous  sect  of  praying  brethren.  O 
Lord,  evermore  grant  me  the  spirit  of 
grace  and  supplication,  that  I  may  pray 
without  ceasing. 


56         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

In  the  evening  I  called  upon  my  deaf 
friend  Thorman;  after  some  conversa- 
tion, he  took  me  into  his  closet,  where 
we  kneeled  down  together;  he  began  to 
read  the  first  chapter  in  the  Gospel  by 
St.  John,  and  changed  it  verse  by  verse, 
into  a   prayer,  introducing  at  the  same 
time,  parallel   passages  from    the   Old 
Testament,  to  illustrate  and  confirm  the 
truth  which  he  had  read  from  the  Gos- 
pel, and  earnestly  begging  for  the  influ- 
ences of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  bless  it  to 
onr  souls.     This  inestimable  privilege  I 
enjoyed  almost  every  day,  especially  on 
the  Sabbath,  as  long  as  I  continued  at 
Prentzlow.     Mr.  Thorman  would  also 
frequently  read  the  periodical  publica- 
tions of  the  Basif  Society,  and  other  let- 
ters relative  to  the  diffusion  of  the  Gos- 
pel among  Christians,  and  especially  the 
exertions  of  Christians  in  England  to 
send  the  word  of  salvation  to  the  hea- 
then.    Very  often  he  would  break  forth 
with  a  deep  sigh,  and  exclaim,  "O!  that 
I  was  again  a  young  man  like  yourself, 
I  would  immediately  go  as  a  mission- 
ary."     I  do  not  recollect  that  he  ever 
spoke  to  me  directly  about  offering  my- 


a  Converted  Jew.  57 

self  as  a  missionary,  nor  did  I  then  feel 
the  least  inclination  to  go,  even  if  I  h?d 
been  asked.  However,  this  labor  of  love 
and  prayer  of  faith  have  not  been  in  vain, 
as  it  will  be  seen  in  the  next  chapter. 

I  had  no  sooner  tasted  of  the  grace  of 
God,  than  I  was  desirous  to  invite  oth- 
ers to  come  to  the  fulness  of  grace  and 
mercy  in  Christ  Jesus.  With  pleasure 
I  embraced  every  leisure  moment  to 
visit  the  sick,  and  twice  every  week  I 
went  to  the  poor  house.  Here  I  had  the 
first  opportunity  of  speaking  of  the  love 
which  my  dear  Redeemer  bears  to  sin- 
ners in  general,  and  which  he  has  mani- 
fested to  me  in  particular. 

The  effect  which  the  change  of  my 
disposition  had  upon  my  master,  de- 
serves the  attention  of  the  reader.  Be- 
fore my  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Thor- 
man  and  his  friends,  I  spent  generally  one 
or  two  days  in  a  week  in  idleness,  and 
when  I  was  at  work  I  only  earned  just 
enough  to  support  myself.  My  master 
therefore  treated  me  with  the  greatest 
kindness,  in  order  to  keep  me  diligently 
at  work;  but  from  the  time  when  I  be- 


58        The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

gan  to  labor  hard  and  faithfully,  on 
Mondays  as  well  as  other  days  in  the 
week,  so  as  to  earn  nearly  twice  as  much 
wages  as  before,  he  not  only  looked 
coolly  upon  me,  but  very  soon  dismiss- 
ed me  from  his  employment,  without 
being  able  to  assign  a  single  reason  for 
his  conduct.  O  the  enmity  of  the  car- 
nal mind!  But  blessed  be  the  Lord,  who 
often  overrules  the  bad  conduct  of  man 
to  accomplish  his  own  gracious  pur- 
poses. 

It  is  a  custom  in  Germany  for  mas. 
ters  and  journeymen  to  dissolve  their 
connexion  at  Midsummer  and  Christ, 
mas  only,  but  my  master  having  dis- 
missed me  about  two  weeks  before  Mid- 
summer, I  could  not  expect  to  meet 
with  another  until  that  day  arrived.  I 
went  to  Mr.  Thorman,  and  told  him, 
that  I  intended  to  leave  Prentzlow,  as  I 
could  not  bear  the  idea  of  sj  ending  my 
time  tiii  Midsummer  day  in  idleness. 
Mr.  Thorman  informed  me,  that  a  friend 
of  his,  Mr.  Boettcher,  was  going  to  Ber- 
lin, wlio  would,  no  doubt,  procure  a 
master  for  me.  He  gave  me  also  a  let- 
ter of  recommendation  to  Mr.  Burgett, 


a  Converted  Jew*  59 

a  shoemaker  at  Berlin.  On  the  20th  of 
June,  1799,  I  took  an  affectionate  leave 
of  my  dear  friend  Thorman.  Never  was 
any  thing  more  painful  to  me  than  part- 
ing with  this  man.  Nor  have  I  scarcely 
ever  met  with  one  altogether  like  him. 
It  would  be  unsuitable,  nor  do  I  thinly 
it  necessary  to  detain  the  reader  by  a  par* 
ticular  account  of  this  excellent  disciple 
of  Christ.  But  as  his  praise  is  in  all  the 
churches  in  Gerhiany,  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  insert  at  least  the  following 
letter  of  his,  which  was  given  to  me  by 
Mr.  Boettcher,  on  the  first  day  of  our 
journey  to  Berlin. 

"Dear  Frey, 
"You  are  now  going  to  Berlin. — It  is 
possible  we  shall  not  see  one  another 
again  in  this  life.  Remember  what  you 
have  seen  and  heard  in  this  place;  and 
follow  the  instructions  which  you  have 
received.  Read  diligently  the  word  of 
God,  and  pray  at  the  same  time  that 
your  understanding  may  be  more  and 
more  enlightened  to  see,  and  that  you 
may  feel  more  of  the  deceitfulness  of 
your  own  heart.     For  in  your  heart  (as 


#0        The  Life  of  Mr.  Fretj, 

Bunyan  observes)  are  seven  abomina- 
tions, which  you  must  see  every  day,  as 
long  as  you  live,  and  which  must  con- 
stantly drive  you  to  Jesus  your  Savior. 
"The  seven  abominations  are  these: — 

1.  Inclination  to  unbelief. 

2.  Forgetfulness  of  the  love  and  mer- 
cy of  Jesus  Christ. 

3.  Trust  and  confidence  in  your  own 
works. 

4.  Wandering  thoughts,  and  coldness 
in  prayer. 

5.  Neglect  of  watchfulness  after 
prayer. 

6.  Prone  to  murmur  against  God  and 
man. 

7.  You  can  do  nothing  that  God  has 
commanded  you,  without  mixing  with 
it  self-will,  self-love,  pride,  positiveness, 
ambition,  &c. 

"When  you  would  do  good,  evil  is 
present  with  you.  Now  when  you  feel 
this,  you  must  flee,  by  prayer  and  sup- 
plication, to  Jesus  the  crucified,  as  a 
poor,  miserable,  and  helpless  sinner, 
that  his  atoning  blood  may  cleanse  you 
from  these  abominations,  and  that  Jih 


a  Converted  Jew.  61 

Holy  Spirit  may  change  your  heart,  and 
renew  a  right  spirit  within  you.  If  you 
do  not  this  every  day,  truly,  uprightly, 
and  diligently,  you  will  be  lost  at  last, 
notwithstanding  you  have  been  baptized 
as  a  Christian,  and  received  the  Lord's 
Supper  frequently. " 

To  be  thus  characterized,  and  to  be 
directed  to  such  a  remedy,  was  a  hard 
lesson  for  flesh  and  blood.  But,  through 
grace,  I  have  learned  to  believe,  that 
these  seven  abominations  are  but  a  part 
of  that  world  of  iniquity  within  me,  and 
that  I  am  daily  indebted  to  the  grace  of 
God,  by  which  I  am  restrained  from  sin, 
and  kept  in  the  path  of  righteousness, 
holiness,  and  peace. 

Mr.  Thorman  proceeds  in  his  letter:- 
"You  must  likewise  pray  for  wisdom 
and  understanding  to  learn  your  trade 
thoroughly.  Be  diligent  and  faithful  in 
your  employment;  remember  you  work 
not  only  for  men,  but  you  have  a  Mas- 
ter in  heaven,  even  Jesus  Christ.  If  you 
feel  your  work  to  be  hard,  consider 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  hath  sweet- 
<sned  it,  having  himself  labored  (as  is 
most  probable)  as  a  carpenter,  till  he 
6 


62  The  Life  of  Mr.  Freij, 

was  thirty  years  of  age.  If  you  do  this, 
even  the  ungodly  master  will  esteem 
you:  and  none  will  hinder  you  in  your 
devotion  or  prayer,  if  performed  in  its 
season,  Happy  will  you  be  if  you  fol- 
low my  advice,  but  miserable  will  you 
be  if  you  despise  my  counsel.  The  Lord 
be- your  guide.     Amen. 

I  am  your  sincere  friend, 

J.  F.  Thorman" 
Prentzlow,  Jane  20,  1799. 

Saturday,  June  22d,  on  my  arrival  at 
Berlin,  I  went  to  the  house  of  call;  on 
my  inquiry  after  Mr.  Burgett,  I  was5 
told  that  he  was  a  dangerous  and  infec- 
tious person,  one  of  the  praying  breth- 
ren, and  that  he  scarcely  ever  visited 
the  house  of  call.  However,  1  soon 
found  him,  and  was  received  in  the  most 
affectionate  manner.  He  recommended 
me  to  a  pious  young  man  to  ledge  with,; 
from  whom  I  derived  many  spiritual 
benefits. 

The  next  day  being  the  Lord's  d 
I  went  in  the  morning,  with  Mr.  Bur- 
gett, to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Woldcrstlirff,  a 
venerable  aged  minister  of  the  Gospel, 


a  Converted  Jew.  63 

By  this  valiant  soldier  of  Christ,  I  was 
privately  instructed  how  to  put  on  the 
whole  armour  of  God.  In  the  afternoon 
I  called  upon  a  friend,  to  whom  I  had  a 
letter  of  recommendation. 

This  gentleman  took  me  in  the  even- 
ing to  a  Moravian  chapel,  or  congrega- 
tion of  United  Brethren,  when  the  Rev* 
Mr.  Cunow  preached  from  Luke  v,  8. 
"When  Simoa  Peter  saw  it,  he  fell  down 
at  Jesus's  knees,  saying,  depart  from, 
me,  for  I  am  a  sinful  man,  O  Lord." 

The  simplicity  of  the  place  of  worship, 
the  regularity  and  order  of  the  congre- 
gation, the  subject  of  discourse,  and  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  delivered,  made 
a  lasting  impression  upon  my  mind. 
Ever  after  I  attended  the  public  meet- 
ings of  this  Christian  Society,  and  very 
soon  obtained  liberty  to  attend  their  pri- 
vate meetings  on  Wednesday  and  Fri- 
day evenings.  I  was  just  at  the  point 
of  being  received  as  a  member  of  this 
highly  respected  community,  when  I 
was  prevented  by  joining  the  Mission- 
ary Seminary,  But  although  I  did  not 
actually  become  a  member,  yet  my  at- 
tachment to  them  has  never  been  dhmn* 


64         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

ished.  My  heart  has  ever  rejoiced  to 
meet  with  one  of  these  plain  and  hum- 
ble followers  of  the  Lamb.  It  was 
among  them  I  heard  of  the  love  of  Jesus 
in  every  Sermon,  and  saw  him,  as  it 
were,  crucified  before  my  eyes. 

I  was  but  a  few  days  at  Berlin,  when 
I  obtained  employment  from  a  master, 
who  feared  God,  and  at  whose  house  I 
remained  till  I  entered  the  Missionary 
Seminary.  The  circumstances  which 
led  to  this  change  in  my  life  are  related 
in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAP.  V. 

HIS  ENTRANCE     INTO     THE    MISSION- 
ARY  SEMINARY   AT   BERLIN. 

The  reader  will  not  be  surprised  to 
find  that  the  trade  which  I  learned  was 
almost  beyond  my  strength,  if  he  con- 
siders the  manner  in  which  I  was  edu- 
cated and  the  way  in  which  I  employed 
myself  among  my  own  nation  to  the  age 
of  twenty  five.  My  health  was  much 
impaired,  and  frequently  I  found  such 
pain  in  my  breast  as  not  to  be  able  to 


a  Converted  Jew.  65 

wort.  My  master,  who  often  sympa- 
thized with  me  under  my  afflictions,  one 
day  proposed  to  procure  my  admission 
into  a  Free  School,  where  persons  are 
educated  to  be  Schoolmasters.  Nothing 
Could  have  been  proposed  more  suitable 
to  my  education,  former  employment, 
and  natural  inclination  than  this;  I  ♦here- 
fore  approved  of  the  plan,  and  thanked 
my  master  for  the  kind  interest  he  took 
in  my  welfare. 

But,  O!  how  wonderful  are  the  ways 
of  the  Lord.  One  evening  at  my  devo- 
tional hour,  when  reading  the  Sacred 
Scriptures,  I  was  forcibly  struck  with 
the  following  words: — "Then  said  Jesus 
unto  his  disciples,  If  any  will  come 
after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take 
up  his  cross  and  follow  me.  For  who- 
soever will  save  his  life  shall  lose  it:  and 
whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for  my  sake 
shall  find  it.  For  what  is  a  man  profit- 
ed, if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and 
lose  his  own  soul?  or  what  shall  a  man 
give  in  exchange  for  his  soul?'3  Matt. 
xvi,  24 — 26.  Whilst  meditating  upon 
these  words,  my  mind  was  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  danger  of  entering  this 
#6 


66  The  Life  of  Mr.  Frezj, 

School,  where  true  religion  was  but  lit- 
tle known;  and  I  reflected,  that  although 
this  situation  might  greatly  improve  my 
bodily  health  and  temporal  circumstan- 
ces, yet  it  was  very  likely  to  lead  to  the 
ruin  of  my  soul.  After  much  prayer  to 
God  for  direction,  I  resolved  to  continue 
in  my  employment  till  divine  Provi- 
dence should  point  out  a  situation  preg- 
nant with  less  danger  to  my  eternal  wel- 
fare. 

Soon  after  I  was  introduced  to  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Jaenicke,  minister  of  the  Gos- 
pel to  the  Bohemian  congregation.  On 
mentioning  the  name  of  this  servant  of 
Christ,  I  should  certainly  have  consid- 
ered it  my  duty  to  speak  of  his  excellent 
character,  but  conscious  of  my  inability 
to  do  justice  to  the  subject,  I  shall  mere- 
ly observe,  that  he  is  a  man  of  God, 
anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  con- 
stantly going  about  doing  good. 

One  S-tbba-h,  towards  the  close  of 
1799,  when  returning  from  the  Mora- 
vian chapel,  l  was  met  by  several 
young  men,  one  of  whom  said,  "Well, 
brother  Frey,  should  you  like  to  go  as  a 
Missionar} ■?"  "Yes,"  said  I,  "I  am  wi- 
ling to  go  whithersoever  the  Lord  h 


a  Converted  Jew.  67 

shall  be  pleased  to  send  me."  "You 
had  better"  said  another,  "go  to  Mr. 
Jaenicke,  and  give  in  your  name."  Ac- 
cordingly I  vvent  to  Mr.  Jaenicke,  who, 
after  having  had  some  conversation  with 
me,  especially  on  the  nature  of  the  work 
of  a  Missionary,  inserted  my  name 
amongst  those  who  had  already  offered 
themselves  as  candidates  "to  preach 
among  the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ."  Several  months  elaps- 
ed before  we  knew  for  a  certainty  that  a 
Seminary  would  be  established.  Mr. 
Albrecht,  one  of  the  Candidates,  and 
myself,  went  with  letters  of  recommen- 
dation from  Mr.  Jaenicke  to  Baron  van 
Shiernding,  of  Dorbrylugk,  in  Saxony, 
at  whose  expense  the  Seminary  was  to 
be  supported;  and  a  few  weeks  after- 
wards we  received  orders  from  him  to 
quit  our  worldly  occupations,  and  devote 
ourselves  to  study,  under  the  care  and 
superintendajice  of  Mr.  Jaenicke. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1800,  the 
Missionary  Seminary  was  opened,  and 
seven  students  were  received,  viz, 
Messrs.  Albrecht,  Hard  wig,  Langher, 
Palm,  Schreibfogel,  Ulbricht,  and  my- 
self.    This  Seminary  was  not  designed 


68  Tlie  Life  of  Mr.  Freij, 

to  send  Missionaries  to  the  heathen,  but 
merely  as  a  nursery  to  prepare  them  for 
Missionary  Societies.  From  this  cir- 
cumstance a  very  great  difficulty  arose, 
for  not  knowing  the  place  of  our  future 
destination,  it  was  impossible  to  deter- 
mine what  language  we  ought  to  learn, 
Mr.  Jaenicke,  and  his  friends,  therefore 
resolved  that  we  should  be  taught  the 
rudiments  of  several  languages.  Ac- 
cordingly we  began  Latin,  Greek,  He- 
brew,* Dutch,  French,  Arabic,  and 
Syriac.  Besides  this,  we  had  to  attend 
on  several  other  Lectures,  such  as  the- 
ology, geography,  music,  medicine,  &c. 
&c.  Our  work  was  hard,  and  nothing 
but  love  to  immortal  souls,  and  an  ear* 
nest  desire  to  promote  the  honor  of  a 
precious  Savior,  could  have  supported 
us.  Those  who  wished  to  make  them- 
selves masters  of  the  lessons  they  re* 
ceived,  had  need  to  redeem  every  mo- 
ment of  their  time.  Seldom  did  I  allow 
myself  six  hour's  sleep,  and  very  fre- 
quently I  sat  up  whole  nights. 

*  Although  I  was,  like  many  of  my  brethren  amongst  the 
Jews,   practically   acquainted  with   the   Hebrew  language 
from  my  childhood,  yet  I  attended  these  JLect.-.:: 
iK,$raimnaticgUg. 


a  Converied  Jew.  69 

While  at  this  seminary,  we  had  not 
the  privilege  of  preaching  publicly,  for 
none  are  licensed  to  preach,  but  those 
who  have  been  regularly  educated  at  a 
University;  however,  we  composed  each 
a  short  discourse,  once  a  fortnight,  and 
delivered  it  at  Mr.  Jaenicke's  own  house, 
where  some  friends  were  admitted.  Be- 
fore we  had  reached  the  end  of  the  first 
year  in  the  Seminary,  a  change  took 
place  in  the  circumstances  of  our  excel- 
lent patron,  which  threatened  the  riain 
of  the  Institution,  and  we  were  actually 
told  that  in  a  month's  time,  we  were  to 
return  to  our  former  employments;  but 
blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  hears  and  an* 
swers  the  prayers  of  his  people. 

Mr.  Jaenicke,  our  dear  father,  as  we 
wished  to  call  him,  wrote  to  different 
Societies  and  private  Christians  to  afford 
their  aid  to  support  the  infant  cause. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  faith, 
hope,  trust,  and  patience  of  Mr.  Jaenicke, 
Mtere  tried  in  a  most  remarkable  manner. 

The  funds  of  the  Institution  were  so 
often  exhausted,  that  he  was  obliged  to 
pay  our  sustenance,  for  several  weeks 
together  out  of  his  own  property,  with- 


•70         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

out  the  least  certainty  of  ever  being  re- 
paid. Towards  the  close  of  1800,  Mr. 
Jaenicke  received  a  letter  from  Dr.  K — 

of  H ,  requesting  that  the  Candidates 

might  be  examined,  and  one  of  them 
chosen  for  the  Danish  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, but  that  Mr.  Frey  should  not  be  ex- 
amined, as  they  did  not  wish  for  him,  on 
account  of  his  having  been  a  Jew.  The 
reader  may  easily  suppose  that  I  was  not 
a  little  mortified  at  this  circumstance. 
However,  the  Lord  enabled  me  patiently 
to  wait  till  he  should  call. 

In  the  beginning  of  1801,  Mr.  Jaen- 
icke received  several  very  encouraging 
letters  and  liberal  donations  from  the  So- 
ciety at  Basil,  from  the  Missionary  So- 
ciety in  London,  and  from  private  Chris- 
tians. On  the  11th  of  June  Mr  Jaen- 
icke informed  us,  that  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society  had  written  for  three 
Missionaries,  to  be  Assistants  to  the  late, 
venerable  Dr.  Vander  Kemp,  in  Africa. 
After  a  most  solemn  prayer  to  God,  he 
chose  Brother  PaliQ,  Ulbright,  and  my- 
self, and  the  11th  of  July,  was  fixed  up- 
on as  the  day  of  our  departure. 

But  before  I  conclude  this  chapter,  I 
will  take  notice  of  a  pleasing  circum- 


a  Convericd  Jew.  71 

stance  which  occurred  whilst  I  was  at 
Berlin.  One  day,  when  taking  my  din- 
ner as  usual  in  the  Eating-house,  I  was 
much  struck  with  the  conversation  of 
some  persons  at  the  table;  their  language 
and  expressions,  respecting  our  blessed 
Savior,  were  so  horrid  and  blasphemous, 
that  I  could  hear  it  no  lunger,  but  ad- 
dressed them  in  the  following  manner: 
"My  friends,  you  profess  to  be  Christians, 
but  by  your  words,  you  manifest  that  you 
are  at  present  as  great  and  bitter  enemies 
of  Jesus  Christ,  as  those  who  crucified 
him.  Had  you  charged  a  brother  or 
friend  of  mine  with  half  of  that  with 
which  you  have  charged  my  God  and 
Savior,  I  should  certainly  have  sum- 
moned you  before  a  Court  of  Justice: 
and  suppose  you  had  not  been  able  to 
substantiate  the  charge,  what  would  be 
the  consequence?  But,  alas!  there  is  no 
Tribunal  in  this  Metropolis,  where  I 
could  defend  the  character  of  my  blessed 
Redeemer;  however,  bye  it  known  to 
you,  that  there  is  a  day  coming,  when 
both  you  and  I  shall  stand  before  the 
Judge  of  the  whole  earth;  when  the 
books  will  be  opened,  and  your  present 


72  The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

conversation  will  be  read  before  an  in- 
numerable company,  with  the  addition, 
that  a  person  then  present,  who  was 
once  a  Jew,  but  had  embraced  the 
Christian  religion,  reproved  you  for  the 
dishonor  cast  upon  your  Savior." 
Here   I  was  interrupted  by  a  young 

man,  Mr.  R-* ,  who  said,    "So,  you 

have  changed  your  religion?  I  think  that 
is  the  worst  thing  a  person  can  be  guilty 
of.  Every  person  ought  to  keep  the 
religion  in  which  he  was  brought  up." 
' 'Before  I  answer  your  question,"  said 
I,  "or  justify  my  conduct,  permit  me  to 
ask — Do  you  believe  the  Bible?"  "I 
would,"  was  his  reply,  "but  I  cannot,  I 
should  be  glad  to  have  some  conversa- 
tion with  you  on  this  subject."  We 
paid  for  our  dinner,  and  took  a  walk  to- 
gether. Upon  inquiry,  I  found  that  Mr. 
R_,  was  a  native  of  Brandenburgh, 
Strelitz  Mecklenburgh,  the  place  where 
I  was  received  a  Member  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  and  where  I  finished  my 
apprenticeship,  on  which  account  I  was 
considered  as  a  native  of  that  place,  and 
usually  called  Brandenburgher.  This 
circumstance  united  our  affections,  andl 


a  Converted  Jesfl.  78 

rendered  our  conversation  free  and  un- 
reserved.  Mr*  R — ,  told  me,  that  he 
was  led  to  doubt  the  truth  of  the  Bible, 
because  there  were  several  things  in  it 
which  he  could  not  reconcile  with  the 
perfections  of  God,  and  other  things 
which  he  could  not  understand.  I  en- 
deavored to  remove  his  objections,  and 
before  we  parted,  he  promised  to  call  on 
me  the  next  day. 

Early  on  the  next  morning  which  was 
the  Lord's  day,  he  called  on  me,  and 
we  went  both  to  hear  Mr.  Jaenicke, 
who,  in  the  course  of  his  Sermon,  point- 
ed out  the  folly,  guilt,  and  danger  of 
those  persons  who  reject  the  Bible,  be- 
cause it  is  above  their    comprehension. 

My  friend  R ,  naturally  concluded 

from  the  discourse  of  Mr.  Jaenicke,  that 
I  had  told  him  our  yesterday's  conver- 
sation, for  which  he  reproved  me.  Hav* 
ing  assured  him  that  I  had  not  done  so, 
but  that  Mr.  Jaenicke  was  a  man  of 
much  prayer  to  God,  for  the  influence 
pf  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  be  enabled  to 
speak  a  word  in  season,  Mr.  R-^ — > 
seemed  to  be  satisfied.  On  the  same 
day  we  went  together  to  Rixsdrofj  \o 
7 


U        The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

hear  a  Moravian  minister,  where,  to  the 
great  surprise  of  my  friend,  the  minister, 
Johannes  Bellwitz,  preached  on  the  di- 
vinity of  our  blessed  Saviour;  and  like 
Mr.  Jaenicke,  with  holy  zeal  for  the 
honor  of  Christ,  and  unfeigned  love  for 
the  souls  of  men,  he  warned  every  one 
of  his  hearers  not  to  reject  any  part  of 
divine  revelation,  although  it  might  ex- 
ceed their  comprehension.  This  ser- 
mon was  greatly  blessed  to  my  friend 
R — — ,  who  afterwards  attended  regu- 
larly on  the  ministry  af  Mr.  Jaenicke, 
walked  according  to  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  and  gave  full  evidence  of  his  be- 
ing a  Christian,  in  deed,  and  in  truth. 
Since  I  have  been  in  this  country  I  have 
received  from  him  several  edifying  and 
satisfactory  letters,  which  lead  me  to 
consider  bim  as  the  first  fruits  of  my 
weak  and  feeble  endeavors. 

Christian  reader,  let  this  circumstance, 
as  well  as  the  word  spoken  to  me  in  the 
stage-coach,  before  alluded  to,  encour- 
age you  to  embrace  every  opportunity  to 
reprove  and  exhort  sinners,  and  to  rec- 
ommend Jesus  Christ  and  his  glorious 
•Gospel;  for  a  word  spoken  in  season, 
how  good  it  is." 


a  Converted  Jew.  75 

CHAP.  VI. 

HIS  DESIGN  IN  COMING  TO  ENGLAND* 

Saturday,  July  11, 1801, 1  left  Berlin, 
in  company  with  Messrs,  Palm  and  Ul- 
bricht  for  the  -purpose  of  going  to  Lon- 
don, to  the  London  Missionary  Society, 
and  from  thence  to  Africa,  to  join  Dr. 
Vander  Kemp  in  his  missionary  labors 
among  the  Hottentots.  We  arrived  at 
Hamburgh  on  the  Monday  following, 
and  called  on  Mr.  Vander  Smissen,  who 
received  us  with  christian  affection  and 
love.  From  Hamburgh  we  went  to 
Hautzhausen,  in  Friesland,  to  the  Rev, 
Mr.  Stracke,  where  we  met  with  a  most 
cordial  reception.  At  this  place  we  re- 
mained six  weeks,  to  learn  the  Dutch 
language.  While  staying  with  Mr.  S — , 
we  had  the  privilege  of  preaching  in  the 
surrounding  villages,  to  large  and  atten- 
tive congregations.  We  had  also  an 
opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  several  most  pious,  and  zealous 
ministers  of  the  Gospel. 

On  the  6th  of  September  the  wind 
became    favorable;    and    we    received 


7d        The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

orders  to  embark  for  England.  Three 
captains,  friends  to  the  cause  of  the  Re- 
deemer, offered  to  take  one  of  the  Mis- 
sionaries gratis.  Early  on  the  next  day 
we  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  our 
friends,  and  went  on  board  the  vessels 
M  hich  lay  at  Emden.  The  separation 
from  my  two  missionary  brethren  was 
not  a  small  trial.  The  hope  of  seeing 
them  again  at  London  afforded  some  re- 
lief: but  my  greatest  comfort  and  sup- 
port was  derived  from  a  sweet  comma* 
nion  with  my  blessed  Savior,  "who  is  a 
friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  broth- 
er." The  first  day,  when  on  board  the 
ship,  I  was  unwell,  but  keeping  much 
on  deck  I  soon  recovered.  The  gran- 
deur of  the  sea,  which  I  had  never  seen 
before,  the  rising  of  the  sun,  the  sight 
of  an  approaching  ship,  together  with 
the  kind  treatment  of  the  captain,  made 
the  voyage  seem  very  short,  and  exceed- 
ingly pleasant. 

On  Tuesday,  September  15,  we 
Reached  Gravesend.  At  the  Alien 
office  I  was  informed,  that  the  brethren 
Palm  and  Ulbricht  had  just  gone  up  to 
London,  and  that  I  must  wait  at  least 


a  Converted  Jew.  7f 

two  days  until  I  received  a  passport 
from  London.  I  went  to  an  inn,  but  as 
I  could  not  speak  a  word  of  English,  I 
knew  not  how  to  act.  I  went  to  the 
Rev.  W.  Kent,  and  delivered  a  few 
lines,  which  the  pilot  on  board  the  ship 
gave  me,  to  inform  Mr.  K.  who  I  was. 
Although  I  could  not  converse  with 
him,  yet  it  was  very  encouraging  to 
meet  with  a  Christian  friend,  especially 
as  Mr.  K.  was  exceedingly  kind  to  me, 
and  introduced  me  to  several  of  his 
friends.  On  my  return  from  his  house 
I  met  with  a  poor  German  soldier,  who 
spoke  both  German  and  English,  him  I 
took  with  me  to  the  inn  to  be  my  inter- 
preter. In  the  evening  I  was  much  de- 
pressed in  my  mind,  cast  down  and  full 
of  fears;  but  I  was  enabled  to  pour  out 
my  heart  before  God  in  fervent  prayer, 
and  retired  with  some  confidence  and 
trust  in  Him  who  has  said,  4kMy  grace 
shall  be  sufficient  for  thee*** 

Next  day,  having  received  a  passport, 
I  went  to  London.  On  my  arrival  at 
the  counting-house  of  Joseph  Hardcas* 
tie,  Esq.  Treasurer  to  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society,  I  was  directed  to  lodge 


78         The  Life  of  Mt.  Frey, 

at  Mr.  Smith's  Bishopsgate  Street. 
Here  I  expected  to  meet  my  dear  breth- 
ren, Palm  and  Ulbricht;  but  as  they  had 
gone  on  board  their  vessels  to  spend  the 
night  with  their  captains,  of  which  none 
in  the  house  could  inform  me,  on  ac- 
count of  the  language  I  was  greatly  dis- 
appointed. The  people  observing  the 
cause  of  my  distress,  took  me  into  the 
room  where  the  brethren's  luggage  was, 
the  sight  of  which  greatly  revived  my 
spirits.  In  this  house  I  remained  until 
I  went  to  Gosport.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S. 
behaved  exceedingly  kind  to  us;  they 
endeavored,  in  every  possible  way,  to 
make  us  comfortable;  they  also  took 
great  pains  to  help  us  forward  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  English  language. 
The  method  which  I  adopted  to  learn 
English,  wras  to  compare  the  English 
Bible  with  the  German.  In  the  five 
months  which  I  staid  in  London,  I  read 
the  Gospel  of  St.  John  four  times  over, 
and  compared  every  verse  with  the 
German  Bible,  and  sought  for  the  mean, 
ing  of  every  difficult  word  in  the  Die 
tionary,  by  which  means  I  could  very 
soon   understand    what     was    spoken, 


a  Converted  Jew.  79 

though  I  could  not  express  myself  flu- 
ently till  sometime  after  I  had  left 
London. 

On  the  first  Sabbath  of  my  being  in 
London,  I  went  to  Rotherhithe,  to  hear 
the  Rev.  John  Townsend.  I  was  much 
pleased  with  the  manner  in  which  the 
worship  was  performed,  but  not  being 
able  to  understand  the  minister,  I  went 
to  the  German  Church,  at  the  Savoy,  in 
the  Strand,  where,  at  that  time,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Ringeltaube  (now  a  Missionary  m 
India,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Society)  preached.  Soon  after, 
the  Rev.  Charles  SteinkopfFwas  ordain* 
ed  in  the  same  Church,  where  I  contin- 
ued to  hear  him  with  great  pleasure 
and  edification.  As  I  was  not  able  to 
converse  in  English,  and  having  a  great 
desire  to  promote  the  salvation  of  my 
dear  brethren  of  the  house  of  Israel,  I 
went  to  their  Synagogues,  and  to  those 
parts  of  the  metropolis  where  they 
principally  reside,  to  converse  with  them 
in  Hebrew,  German,  or  Dutch.  Veiy 
often  I  returned  to  my  abode,  weeping 
and  lamenting  over  the  deplorable  con- 
dition of  these  my  dear  brethren  and 


80         The  Life  of  Mr.  Freij, 

kinsman  according  to  the  flesh.  Some- 
times I  said  to  Mr.  Smith,  "Could  I 
stay  but  one  year  in  London,  I  believe  I 
should  be  able  to  preach  to  the  Jews  in 
English,  so  as  to  make  myself  under- 
stood by  them.  And  oh!  how  happy 
should  I  be  to  declare  unto  them  the 
word  of  Salvation,  if  ever  so  much  ex- 
posed  to  their  hatred  and  persecution." 
But  although  this  was  my  constant  wish 
and  earnest  prayer  to  God,  yet,  for  some 
time  I  had  no  hopes  of  obtaining  my 
desire,  as  we  were  daily  in  expecta- 
tion of  meeting  with  a  ship  to  go  to  the 
Cape  of  good  Hope,  as  assistants  to  Dr. 
Vander  Kemp,  But  how  mysterious 
are  the  ways  of  the  Lord!  Five  months 
elapsed  without  finding  a  single  vessel 
to  take  us  to  our  destined  haven.  Both 
my  brethren,  Palm  and  Ulbricht,  as 
well  as  myself,  manifested  impatience, 
and  a  readiness  to  murmur  against  this 
dispensation  of  Divine  Providence;  but 
blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord,  whose 
thoughts  are  not  as  our  thoughts,  and 
whose  ways  are  not  as  our  ways,"  with 
gratitude  and  praise,  I  can  now  say,  "he 
has  done  all  things  well." 


a  Converted  Jew.  81 

Mr.  Ringeltaube  having  been  told 
that  I  wished  to  preach  to  my  brethren, 
the  Jews,  advised  me  to  write  a  letter  on 
the  subject  to  Mr.  Hardcastle,  and 
promised  to  translate  it  into  English. 
Accordingly  I  wrote  to  that  purpose;  in 
answer  to  which  I  was  desired  to  draw 
up  an  account  of  my  life,  and  to  state 
fully,  in  a  letter  to  the  directors,  my 
request,  together  with  the  motives  which 
induced  me  to  it. 

In  compliance  with  their  wish,  I 
wrote  a  short  narrative,  together  with  a 
letter,  which  I  sent  to  the  directors, 
written  in  the  German  language.  The 
following  is  a  literal  translation  of  the 
letter. 

Rom.  ix,  1 — 3,  "I  say  the  truth  in 
Christ,  I  lie  not,  my  conscience  alsa 
bearing  me  witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
that  I  have  great  heaviness  and  continu- 
al sorrow  in  my  heart.  For  I  could 
wish  that  myself  were  accursed  from 
Christ  for  my  brethren  my  kinsman 
according  to  the  flesh. 

"Beloved  brethren  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  these  and  similar  words  of  the 
apostle  Paul,  in  which  he  manifested  bis 


32         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

love  to  the  Jews,  and  his  heart  felt  sor- 
row on  account  of  their  unbelief,  have 
eften  raised  in  me  so  great  a  desire  to 
become  a  missionary  amongst  them,  as 
to  overbalance  all  the  dangers  which 
such  an  attempt  might  expose  me  to. 
Indeed  soon  after  I  was  truly  awakened, 
I  felt  an  anxions  wish,  out  of  love  to 
my  dear  Savior,  who  gave  himself  for  me? 
unto  the  most  painful  and  ignominious 
death,  and  out  of  love  and  compassion 
to  the  ignorant  amongst  Christians 
or  amongst  heathens,  to  preach  the 
blessed  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  the 
Son  of  God  had  endured  the  greatest 
sufferings,  even  unto  the  death  of  the 
cross,  for  poor,  accursed,  helpless  man; 
yet  it  is  also  true,  that  as  often  as  I  saw 
a  Jew,  one  of  my  own  brethren  and 
kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh,  my 
whole  heart  was  stirred  up  within  me; 
and  my  prayer  to  God  was,  O  that  this 
poor  lost  sheep  might  find  the  right  way 
to  the  good  Shepherd,  who  gave  his  life 
a  ransom  for  our  souls.  Whenever  I 
found  an  opportunity  to  speak  to  one  of 
the  descendants  of  Abraham,  I  told 
him  that  the  promised  Messiah  was  al- 


a  Converted  Jew.  83 

ready  come,  not  only  as  the  Son  of  Da- 
vid, but  also  as  the  Son  of  God:  that 
he    was    made    a    curse   for  us  when 
he  suffered  and  died  on  the  cross,  to  de«> 
liver  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  but 
that  the  same  person  rose  again  from 
the  dead  on  the  third  day,according  to  the 
scripture  prophecy;  that  he  ascended  on 
high;  and  that  in  believing  this  I  enjoyed 
happiness  that  could  not  be  expressed. 
"I    also   translated,    at   Berlin,   into 
German  Hebrew,  (i.  e.  German  language 
in  Hebrew  letters,)  three  of  Mr.  Cooper's 
sermons,  preached  to  the  Jews  in  Lon- 
don, in  expectation  that  the  Baron  van 
Shirning  would  cause  them  to  be  printed 
for  the  use  of  the  Jews.     I  also  trans- 
lated Luther's    shorter   catechism,  and 
wrote  several  things,  which  I  frequently 
read  to  some  of  my  dear  brethren,  and 
often  observed,that  many  of  them  resisted 
the  truth  merely  out  of  the  fear  of  men. 
On  the  Sabbath,  I  used  to  go  near  to 
thfe  synagogue,  for  the  sake  of  having 
religious    conversation    with    my   dear 
brethren.      Many  would    stand   round 
about  me,  to  whom  I  spoke  with  the 
greatest  boldness  respecting  their  unhc« 


$4         The  Life  of  Mr9  Frey, 

lief  and  misery,  and  declared  to  them 
the  suitable,  free  and  full  salvation  by 
Jesus  Christ;  and  assured  him  of  his 
wonderful  love  to  poor  sinners,  yea, 
even  to  the  chief  of  sinners,  Some 
brought  forward  objections  against 
Christianity,  but,  through  grace,  I  was 
enabled  from  the  writings  of  the  Old 
Testament,  to  defend  myself.  Although 
I  have  not  yet  seen  the  fruit  of  those  la- 
bors, yet  I  know  and  believe  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  cross  will  produce  its 
effects  in  due  season. 

"The  reasons,  therefore,  my  dearly 
beloved  brethren,  why  I  believe  that  my 
blessed  Savior  will  count  me  worthy, 
if  not  here,  yet  somewhere  else;  and  if 
not  now,  yet  at  some  future  time,  to 
make  known  his  blessed  gospel  to  my 
brethren  and  sisters,  are  these: — 

First — the  inexpressible  and  irre- 
sistible wish  and  desire  which  I  feel  to 
point  out  unto  them,  through  the  grace 
and  assistance  of  Him  whose  strength  is 
made  perfect  in  our  weakness,  the  way 
to  obtain  eternal  life. 

"Secondly— It  is  well  known,  that 
9  Jew  who  has  embraced  the  Christian 


a  Converted  Jew.  85 

religion,  is  generally  looked  upon  by 
his  own  nation  with  the  greatest  contempt 
and  reproach,  yea,  even  persecuted,  as 
much  as  lies  in  their  power;  yet,  to  my 
great  surprise,  I  have  been  received  by 
many  Jews  in  Berlin,  with  friendship 
and  respect.  Twice  I  had  religious 
conversation  with  the  presiding  Rabbi 
himself;  and  here  in  London,  I  have 
dined  with  some,  at  whose  table  I  have 
not  been  ashamed  nor  afraid  to  confess 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  to  be  the  true  Mes- 
siah; and  not  a  few  have  already  visited 
me  at  my  apartments,  for  the  sake  of 
having  religious  conversation. 

"Thirdly — I  have  observed,  that  my 
brethren  will  rather  listen  to  what  I  say, 
than  to  what  they  hear  advanced  by  a 
Christian;  and  that  they  would  open 
with  freedom  and  confidence,  their  mind 
to  me,  which  they  would  never  do  to 
one  who  was  born  a  Christian. 

The  last  reason  which  I  assign  for  my 
wish  is — 

" Fourthly '—That  I  humbly  hope  I 
am  acquainted  with  their  peculiar  clispo* 


8&  The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

sitions  and  conduct;  that  I  know  their 
religious  sentiments;  and  that  I  shall  be 
enabled,  through  the  grace  of  my  bles- 
sed Savior,  to  become  all  things  to  all 
men,  that  I  may  by  all  means  save  some, 
especially  of  those  of  my  own  nation, 
whom  I  love,  with  love  unfeigned  and 
inexpressible. 

"It  is  therefore,  my  dearly  beloved 
brethren,  my  humble  wish  to  remain,  if 
but  one  year  in  London,  to  try  if  possi- 
ble, to  save  if  but  one  soul,  from  the 
power  of  Satan,  and  lead  him  to  the  good 
Shepherd  who  gave  his  life  for  the  sheep, 
&c.  But  Jesus  is  rny  Lord  and  Savior, 
who  has  bought  me  on  the  cross  with 
his  precious  blood;  to  him  I  give  myself 
again  in  body  and  in  soul  to  be  directed 
in  this  important  subject-  He  who  is 
infinite  in  wisdom,  knows  best  what  is 
good  for  me,  a  poor  worm.  He  is  per- 
fectly acquainted  with  the  hearts  of  men, 
and  turns  them  as  he  does  the  rivers  of 
water.  The  desires  and  motives  of  my 
heart  are  better  known  to  him  than  to 
myself:  and  he  will,  no  doubt,  lead  and 
rule  according   to  his  holy  will,    the 


a>  Converted  Jew.  87 

hearts  of  my  dearly   beloved  brethren 
and  directors. 

I  am,  your  willing  servant, 

"C.  F.  Frey." 
London,  Nov.  24,  1801." 

After  I  had  sent  this  letter  to  the  di- 
rectors, I  attended  several  of  their  meet- 
ings, to  answer  various  questions  rela- 
tive to  a  mission  amongst  the  Jews;  and 
on  the  21st  of  December,  I  received 
the  important  intelligence,  that  "the 
directors,  had  resolved  that  I  should  stay, 
at  least  one  year,  in  England."  The 
workings  produced  in  my  mind,  on  the 
receipt  of  this  message,  were  very  op- 
posite, and  continued  so  for  several 
weeks. 

The  idea  of  preaching  the  word  of 
salvation  to  my  dear  brethren,  and  the 
hope  of  rescuing  some  from  everlasting 
destruction,  filled  my  heart  with  unspeak- 
able joy  and  pleasure;  but  a  conscious- 
ness of  my  utter  unfitness  for  so  great 
and  arduous  an  undertaking,  overwhelm- 
ed my  mind  with  inexpressible  sor- 
row and  grief,  and  would  have  led  me 
to    despair,    had    it   not  been  for  that 


38         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

gracious  promise,  "as  thy  day  is,  so 
shall  thy  strength  be."  The  following 
passages  of  Scripture  likewise  greatly 
encouraged  my  heart,  2  Chron.  xxxiv, 
3.  4lIn  the  eighth  year  of  his  reign 
(i.  e.  Jcsiah,)  while  he  was  yet  young, 
he  began  to  seek  after  the  God  of  David, 
his  father:  and  in  the  twelfth  year  he 
began  to  purge  Judah  and  Jerusalem 
from  the  high  places,  and  the  groves, 
and  the  carved  images  and  the  molden 
images."  2  Cor.  v,  7.  uWe  walk  by- 
faith  and  not  by  sight."  The  change 
respecting  myself,  affected  likewise  the 
brethren  Palm  and  Ulbricht?  for  instead 
of  going  directly  to  the  Cape,  they  were 
both  sent  to  Rotterdam,  where  they 
stayed  for  some  time;  and  afterwards 
several  brethren  from  the  Missionary 
Seminary  at  Berlin,  joined  them. 

Having  mentioned  the  circumstances 
which  led  to  a  change  in  the  design  of 
my  coming  to  this  country,  the  reader 
will  no  doubt,  expect  to  hear  how  I  en- 
tered Uj)on  this  new  and  most  impor- 
tant part  of  my  life,  and  of  the  success 
of  my  labors  amongst  the  Jews;  but  I 
must  beg  the  reader's  patience,  and  call 


a  Converted  Jew.  89 

his  attention  to  the  gracious  dealings  of 
God  with   me  for  the  space    of   three 
years  and   a  half,  viz.  from  the  time  it 
was  resolved  that  I  should  stay  in  Eng- 
*  land;  to  the  time  of  my  actually  entering 
into  the  field  of   labor.       As   I  knew 
nothing  of  the  English  language,  and  as 
preaching  to  the  Jews   requires    seme 
peculiar  preparatory  studies,  the  direc- 
tors resolved  that  I  should  go  to  Gos- 
port,     to   their    Missionary    Seminary- 
Accordingly,  on  the  28th  of  February, 
1802,  I  left  London,  and  went  to  Gos- 
port.     Forever  blessed   be    the    Lord, 
who  in  his  wise  providence,  sent  me  to 
that  place  to  be  under  the  tuition  of  such 
a  man  as  the  Rev.  D4vid  Bogue.  Would 
to  God  I  had  words  to  express  the  high 
esteem  which   I    feel  for  this  my  dear 
tutor,  and  the  great  obligations  under 
which  I  am   to  him  for  the  inestimable 
benefits  which    I  then  derived,  and  do 
even  still  daily  receive  from  his  excellent 
lectures   on  various  subjects;  from  his 
wise,  prudent  and  most  judicious  advice: 
and  from  his  exemplary  conduct,  both 
as    Christian   and  as  a  minister.     Long 
may  his  valuable  life  fre   spared  as   a 
8* 


90  The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

blessing  to  his  family,  to  his  flock,  and 
to  his  church  at  large. 

The  first  thing  I  had  to  attend  to,  was 
to  get  a  thorough  knowledge  of  English. 
I  had  also  to  learn  the  Latin  and  Greek 
languages.  By  the  desire  of  my  tutor,  I 
gave  the  students  instruction  in  Hebrew; 
but  the  extreme  difficulty  of  obtaining  a 
suitable  Hebrew  Grammar,  led  me  to 
compose  a  new  one,  which  I  have  since 
revised  and  enlarged. 

A  few  weeks  after  I  had  been  at  Gos- 
port,  I  engaged,  for  the  first  time,  in 
prayer,  in  the  Seminary,  in  the  English 
language.  Towards  the  close  of  March, 
I  was  invited  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cox,  of 
Fareham,  to  spend  the  first  Sabbath  in 
April,  at  his  house,  and  to  receive  the 
Lord'i  Supper  with  his  people.  I  ac- 
cepted of  his  invitation.  Having  a 
great  desire  to  prepare  a  few  words  in 
English,  and  to  deliver  them  on  the  next 
Sabbath  before  the  minister  to  whom  I 
was  to  pay  a  visit,  I  chose  the  5th  verse 
in  the  17th  chapter  of  the  Gospel  by  St. 
Matthew:  "While  he  yet  spake,  behold 
a  bright  cloud  overshadowed  them:  and> 


a  Converted  Jew.  91 

behold!  a  voice  out  of  the  cloud,  which 
said,  this  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I 
am  well  pleased;  hear  ye  him."  On  these 
words  I  wrote  a  few  thoughts  in  the 
German  language,  and  translated  them, 
by  the  help  of  a  dictionary,  into  Eng- 
lish. According  to  promise,  I  went  to 
Fareham.  Early  on  the  Lord's  day,  a 
nunber  of  people  having  met  together 
in  the  vestry,  I  engaged  in  prayer,  and 
then  read  what  I  had  written  on  the 
above-mentioned  passage  of  Scripture. 
Never  did  I  witness  a  scene  like  that 
morning;  tears  flowed  from  every  eye, 
and  the  people  blessed  and  praised  God 
for  what  their  eyes  saw,  their  ears  heard, 
and  their  hearts  felt.  I  have  since  been 
informed  that  the  Lord  was  pleased  to 
bless  those  few  imperfect  sentences  in 
broken  English,  to  two  persons,  espec- 
ially to  one  who  disbelieved  the  divinity 
of  our  blessed  Savior.  This  circum- 
stance I  considered  as  indicative  that  it 
was  the  will  of  God  that  I  should  stay 
in  England;  and  I  looked  upon  those 
two,  who  received  the  word  with  profit, 
as  my  first  fruits,  on  British  ground,  of 
a  plentiful  harvest: 


92         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

In  the  same  month,  I  went  to  an  as- 
sociation at  Christ's  Church,  where,  for 
the  first  time,  I  ascended  an  English  pul- 
pit to  engage  in  prayer;  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing May,  I  went  up  to  London,  to 
the  Missionary  meeting,  when  the  Rev. 
Rowland  Hill  introduced  me  into  his 
pulpit  for  the  like  purpose.  The  feel- 
ings of  my  mind  at  the  sight  of  such  an 
immense  congregation,  and  on  account 
of  my  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  lan- 
guage, cannot  be  described.  O  tint  I 
could  sufficiently  praise  the  Lord  for  his 
wonderful  goodness  and  mercy,  which 
have  followed  me  all  the  days  of  my 
life. 

Whilst  I  was  at  Gosport,  I  made  a 
practice  to  spend  the  Saturday  at  Port* 
sea,  where  many  Jews  live,  to  have  re- 
ligious conversation  with  them.  One 
time  I  was  met  by  a  Jew  constable,  who. 
asked  me  for  my  license  as  a  foreigner; 
I  replied  that  I  had  a  license  at  Gosport, 
but  had  not  thought  it  necessary  to  take 
it  with  me  whenever  I  crossed  the  water, 
as  it  is  well  known,  to  several  Chris- 
tians at  Portsea,  that  I  belonged  to  the 
Missionary  Seminary,  under  the  care  of 


tt  Converted  Jew.  OS 

the  Rev.  Mr.  Bogue.  However  he  would 
not  be  satisfied  with  this,  but  took  me 
to  the  mayor's  house,  who  not  being  at 
home,  I  was  led  by  the  constable  direct- 
ly to  Portsmouth  jail.  Being  late  in  the 
evening,  I  was  put  into  a  room,  where 
two  other  prisoners  were.  Before  I  laid 
myself  to  rest,  having  told  them  the 
cause  of  my  imprisonment,  I  prayed  to 
God,  and  was  enabled  to  intercede,  par- 
ticularly, in  a  most  affectionate  manner, 
for  my  brother  Jew,  who  had  imprison- 
ed me.  This  was  the  first  time  I  had 
ever  slept  in  a  prison;  but  I  can  assure 
the  reader,  that  I  never  enjoyed  a  more 
comfortable,  sweet,  and  refreshing  sleep, 
than  I  did  that  night;  for  I  had  not  only 
the  testimony  of  a  conscience  void  of 
offence  towards  God  and  towards  men, 
but  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  I  had 
the  privilege  of  suffering  on  account  of 
my  religious  profession. 

la  the  morning,  when  the  prisoners 
met  in  the  yard,  as  usual,  they  said,  one 
to  another,  |4There  is  a  wonderful  man 
come  amongst  us:  we  curse  our  ene- 
mies, but  he  prays  for  them;  nay,  he 
even  prayed  last  night  for  Mr.  ,,. 


94  The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

who  brought  him  into  the  jail."  When 
I  came  into  the  yard,  a  poor  old  woman 
invited  me  to  breakfast  with  her.  As  I 
had  no  money  with  me,  I  accepted 
thankfully  of  her  kind  offer.  After 
breakfast,  I  said  to  some  of  the  prison- 
ers, "I  am  sorry  that  we  are  deprived, 
(being  the  Sabbath  day)  of  the  privilege 
of  going  to  a  place  of  worship;  if  you 
have  no  objection,  we  will  sing  a  hymn, 
and  read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible.  Hav- 
ing obtained  their  consent,  I  took  Dr. 
Watts's  Psalms  and  Hymns,  and  on 
opening  the  book,  the  following  hymn 
was  the  first  that  presented  itself: — 

"My  God,  my  life,  ray  lore, 

To  thee,  to  thee,  I  call; 
I  cannot  live  if  thou  remove, 

For  thou  art  all  in  all. 

Thy  shining  grace  can  cheer 
This  dungeon  where  I  dwell; 

?Tis  paradise  if  thou  art  here, 
If  thou  depart,  'tis  hell." 

B.  ii.  Hymn  9& 

Having,  like  Paul  and  Silas,  sung  praises 
to  God,  I  also  engaged  in  prayer;  after 
th  it  I  read  the  26th  and  27th  chapters 
in  the  Gospel  of  S1  Matthew,  made  a 
few  observations  on  the    sufferings  of 


a  Converted  Jew.  95 

our  blessed  Savior,  and  on  the  conduct 
of  the  Jews;  where  I  took  occasion  to 
inform  them,  that  I  had  been  a  Jew  my- 
self, but  had  embraced  the  Christian 
religion,  on  which  account  I  was  hated 
by  my  brethren  the  Jews,  and  which 
was,  perhaps,  the  real  cause  of  my  im- 
prisonment. In  order  to  shew  that 
Christ  not  only  died  for  our  offences, 
but  also  rose  again  for  our  justification, 
I  read  also  the  28th  chapter  of  the  same 
Gospel,  and  concluded  with  a  short 
prayer. 

Whilst  thus  engaged,  the  Jew  consta- 
ble came  to  the  jailer,  and  desired  him 
to  call  me  into  the  house,  as  he  wished 
to  put  some  question  to  me,  for  the 
purpose  of  laying  my  case  before  the 
mayor.  The  jailer,  though  at  that  time 
no  friend  to  religion,  refused  saying,  "I 
dare  not  interrupt  him,  for  he  is  preach- 
ing  to  the  people."  Two  Jews,  who 
knew  that  I  frequented  the  house  of 
Mr,  Brooks,  went  to  him,  on  the  same 
evening  that  I  was  confined,  and  inform- 
ed him  of  my  imprisonment.  Mr.  B* 
immediately  sent  word  to  Mr.  Bogue, 
and  before  one  o'clock  on  the  Juord?s 


96  The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

day,  I  was  liberated.  Several  of  the 
poor  prisoners  wept,  and  desired  me  to 
stay  with  them  that  afternoon,  that  they 
might  hear  more  of  Jesus  Christ.  I 
promised  them  that  I  would  pay  them  a 
visit.  Not  long  after,  when  I  performed 
this  promise,  I  obtained  liberty  to  preach 
to  the  prisoners  every  Lord's  day,  which 
I  did  for  two  years;  but  when  I  had  suf- 
ficient knowledge  of  the  language  to 
preach  in  regular  congregations,  the  jail 
was  supplied  by  one  of  the  students,  and 
has  continued  to  be  so  to  the  present 
day.  I  have  reason  to  believe,  that  the 
word  has  been  blessed  to  the  jailer  him- 
self;  and,  I  trust,  produced  some  effect 
among  the  prisoners.  The  same  person 
who  put  me  into  the  jail,  ever  afterward 
treated  me  with  the  greatest  respect,  and 
frequently  heard  me  preach.  Thus, 
"the  Lord  maketh  the  wrath  of  man  to 
praise  him,  and  the  remainder  thereof 
he  shall  restrain." 

In  May,  1802,  I  went  the  second  time 
to  London,  to  the  Missionary  Meeting; 
and  on  the  succeeding  Sabbath  I  preach- 
ed my  first  Sermon  to  the  Jews  at  Zion 
Chapel,  from  Gen.  xiii;  8.— -"And  Abra- 


a  Converted  Jew.  97 

ham  said  unto  Lot,  let  there  be  no  strife, 
I  pray  thee,  between  thee  and  me;  and 
between  my  herdmen  and  thy  herdmen; 
for  we  are  brethren."  The  place,  though 
immensely  large,  was  exceedingly 
crowded,  and  a  great  number  of  my 
dear  brethren  the  Jews,  attended:  the 
Lord  graciously  assisted  me,  both  in 
body  and  mind,  to  speak  to  so  large  a 
congregation,  with  great  freedom  and 
affection.  In  the  same  month  I  return- 
ed again  to  Gosport,  and  remained  there 
till  May,  1805;  when,  by  the  desire  of 
the  Directors  of  the  Missionary  Society, 
I  left  their  Seminary  to  begin  my  regu- 
lar labors  amongst  my  brethren  in  Lon- 
don. 


CHAP.  VII. 

HIS    MINISTERIAL     LABORS    AHONGST 
THE    JEWS. 

The  first  Sermon  which  I  preached, 
when  I  came  to  reside  in  London,  was 
at  the  Tabernacle,  on  the  Saturday  even- 
ing after  the  Missionary  Meeting.  As 
there  was  no  stated  place  of  worship  pro* 
9 


98  The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

vided  for  me,  I  preached  for  different 
ministers,  both  on  the  week  days  and  on 
the  Sabbath.  Several  Jews  attended 
whenever  and  wherever  I  preached  in 
London,  or  in  its  vicinity.  Almost 
every  day  I  had  one  or  more  Jews 
calling  upon  me,  but  scarcely  one  who 
would  enter  upon  religious  conversation 
argument  atively  or  experimentally.  I 
was  introduced  to  two  Jewesses,  who 
had  embraced  the  Christian  religion. 
The  one  a  member  of  Dr.  Jenkinses 
church,  Walworth,  and  the  other  had 
been  convinced  under  the  ministry  Gf 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Wilkinson,  of  the  Haber- 
dasher's Alms-houses;  which  last  has 
since  become  a  member  of  the  same 
church  at  Walworth. 

With  these  two  Jewesses,  together 
with  three  Christians,  I  began  a  Prayer 
Meeting,  at  my  own  apartments,  on  the 
8th  of  June,  1805,  and  continued  the 
same  every  Friday  evening.  Our  num- 
ber soon  increased,  so  that  the  place  was 
not  large  enough;  we  continued  how- 
ever to  meet  for  a  whole  year,  and  then 
removed  the  Prayer  Meeting  to  Zion 
Chapel.     At  this  meeting  we  had  fie- 


a  Converted  Jew.  99 

quently  a  few  Jews  attending.  The 
prayers  then  offered  up  may  yet  bring 
down  gracious  answers.  With  pleasure 
I  still  recollect  the  happy  and  profi  able 
hours  we  spent  together  in  prayer  and 
praise.  "O!  how  good  and  pleasant  it 
is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  uni- 
ty.?* Frequently  we  experienced,  that 
"where  two  or  three  are  met  together  in 
the  name  of  Jesus,  there  he  is  in  the 
midbt  of  them,  and  that  to  bless  them." 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Directors,  June 
17th,  in  the  same  year,  it  was  resolved 
that  I  should  preach  a  weekly  Lecture 
to  the  Jews.  This  Lecture  I  com- 
menced on  the  6th  of  the  following 
month,  on  a  Saturday  evening,  at  the 
late  Rev.  Mr.  Ball's  Chapel,  Jewry  Street, 
Algate,  and  continued  there  for  twelve 
months,  when  it  was  removed  to  Zion 
Chapel;  but,  after  a  year  it  was  preached 
again  at  the  former  place.  At  first  a  great, 
number  of  Jews  attended  these  lectures, 
but  they  were  soon  prohibited  in  the 
Synagogue,  threatened,  watched,  and 
actually  punished;  which  was  no  doubt, 
one  great  cause  of  their  absenting  them- 
selves: however,  there  were  always  some 


100       The  Life  of  Mr.  Fvey, 

who  attended  with  apparent  seriousness. 
The  lectures  preached  from  the  begin- 
ning  of  the  Institution,  till  the  subse- 
quent month  of  November,  were  re- 
markably blest.  Three  of  my  dear 
people,  who  regularly  attended  those 
lectures,  were  publicly  baptized:  in 
September,  1806,  two  ir>  Zion  Chapel, 
and  one  at  Hoxton  Chapel,  a  short  ac- 
count of  which  appeared  in  the  Evan- 
gelical Magazine,  for  the  following 
month.  The  latter  of  these  is  now  my 
dear  partner  in  life,  as  well  as  my  sister 
according  to  the  flesh,  and  my  child  in 
the  Gospel.  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God 
of  Israel,  who  has  thus  united  us  in  "a 
threefold  cord  which  cannot  easily  be 
broken."  There  were  also  three  other 
Jews  who  attended  at  the  same  time,  and 
have  continued  to  do  so  wi  h  their  fami- 
lies to  the  present  day,  and  to  give  full 
evidence  of  their  conversion  to  God; 
nor  have  these  lectures  been  without  a 
blessing  to  Christians.  I  could  mention 
several  persons  who  bless  God  that  they 
ever  attended  that  place  of  worship,  al- 
though their  motive,  originally,  wa$ 
mere  curiosity. 


a  Converted  Jew.  101 

In  January,  1807,  a  Free  School  also 
was  established,  at  the  opening  of  which, 
or  within  a  few  months  afterwards, 
twelve  or  thirteen  children  were  re- 
ceived. This  charitable  institution 
greatly  alarmed  the  heads  of  the  Jewish 
people,  and  led  the  Rev,  Dr.  Hirschel, 
the  presiding  Rabbi,  to  preach  in  the 
Synagogue,  and  warn  the  Jews  against 
it,  by  sending  circular  letters  through- 
out the  kingdom,  a  copy  of  which  I 
shall  insert,  that  the  reader  may  see,  at 
least  in  some  degree,  what  difficulties 
there  are  in  the  way  of  a  Jew,  either  to 
attend  on  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel, 
or  to  have  his  children  instructed  in  the 
principles  of  Christianity. 

Abstract  of  the  second  exhortation 
delivered  by  the  Rev.  Solomon  Hirs- 
chel, at  the  great  Synagogue,  Duke's 
Place,  on  Saturday,  January  10th,  a.  m, 
5567.  After  a  discourse  on  Jeremiah 
xi,  18,  19.  "Blessed  be  the  Lord  our 
God,  and  the  God  of  our  forefathers, 
one  sole  and  indivisible,  from  eternity  to 
eternity!  who  has  not  withheld  his  grace 
from  us  since  we  have  been  his  ch 
people,  and  who  has  not  suffered  any 
9& 


102       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

thing  to  escape  our  vigilance  over  the- 
con  venation  of  our  holy  religion.  As  I 
have  had  occasion  to  exercise  on  the  last 
holy  Sabbath,  to  forewarn  every  one  of 
our  nation,  not  to  send  any  of  their 
children  to  the  newly  established  Free 
School,  instituted  by  a  Society  of  per- 
sons who  are  not  of  our  religion,  until  wc 
had,  by  a  proper  investigation,  determin- 
ed if  it  be  completely  free  from  any  pos- 
sible harm  to  the  welfare  of  our  religion, 
as  hath  also  been  fully  stated  in  a  printed 
abstract,  published  for  that  purpose,  and 
which  I  am  happy  to  understand,  has 
had  a  proper  and  good  effect*  Now 
having  since  been  fully  convinced, 
through  the  means  of  a  printed  sermon 
and  address,  published  by  the  Directors 
of  the  Missionary  Society,  viz.  that  the 
whole  purpose  of  this  seeming  kind  ex- 
ertion, is  but  an  inviting  snare,  a  decoy- 
ing experiment,  to  undermine  the  props 
of  our  religion;  and  the  sole  ifitent  ot 
this  institution  is,  at  bottom,  onlv  to  en- 
tice  innocent  Jewish  children,  during 
their  early  and  unsuspecting  \ears,  f 
ths  observance  of  the  law  of  Moses,  md 
co  eradicate  the  religion  of  their  tail 


a  Converted  Jew.  103 

and  forefathers — on  this  account,  I  feel 
myself  necessitated  to  caution  the  con- 
gregation  in  general,  that  no  one  do 
send,  or  allow  to  be  sent,  any  child, 
whether  male  or  female,  to  this  or  any 
such  school  established  by  strangers  to 
our  religion,  nor  likewise  to  any  Sunday 
School  of  that  nature. 

"All  such  persons  therefore,  who 
shall  act  contrary  to  this  prohibition, 
whether  male  or  female,  will  be  consid- 
ered as  if  they  had  themselves  forsaken 
their  religion,  and  been  baptized;  and 
shall  lose  all  title  to  the  name  of  Jews, 
and  forfeit  all  claims  on  the  congrega- 
tion, both  in  life  and  death.  Every  one, 
who  feareth  God,  is  hereby  reminded  of 
his  duty  to  warn  every  one  who  may  be 
ignorant  of  these  circumstances,  and  ac- 
quaint him  thereof,  that  he  may  escape 
the  snare  laid  to  entangle  him.  Thus 
may  we  hope  to  see  the  days  when  the 
name  of  the  only  God  will  be  hallowed, 
and  the  Lord  will  be  one,  and  his  name 
one." 

This  opposition  of  the  Jews,  alas!  had 

its  desired  effect.     For  two  full  years 

the  opening  of  the   Free-schoo?r 


104       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

notwithstanding  the  pious  and  zealous 
exertions  of  a  most  respectable  Com- 
mittee of  Ladies,  not  one  child  was 
added  to  the  original  number. 

Notwithstanding,  however,  this  oppo- 
sition, and  many  difficulties,  arising  from 
different  causes,  I  was  enabled  to  perse- 
vere for  three  years  longer  with  increase 
ed  zeal  and  unwearied  exertions. 

My  labors  under  the  Missionary  So- 
ciety may  be  considered  as  closing  with 
the  above  account,  and  as  the  circum- 
stances which  finally  led  to  my  separa- 
tion from  that  Society,  and  to  my  union 
with  the  London  Society  for  promoting 
Christianity  amongst  the  Jews,  were 
fully  stated  in  the  first  edition  of  my 
Narrative,  and  as  1  hope  the  discussion 
of  those  circumstances  will  never  be  re- 
newed, I  deem  it  unnecessary  to  notice 
them  upon  the  present  occasion,  this 
Edition  being  published,  merely  in  com- 
pliance with  the  desire  of  several  friends, 
who  were  anxious  to  see  my  Narrative 
in  a  form,  and  at  a  price,  that  would 
allow  of  an  extensive  circulation. 

The  Committee  of  the  London  Soci- 
ety, having  obtained  the  use  of  the  I 


a  Converted  Jew.  105 

Mr.  Beck's  Meeting,  Bury  Street,  St. 
Mary  Axe,  I  began  an  Evening  Lecture 
on  Sunday,  March  28,  1809:  the  con- 
gregation was  crowded,  and  several  hun- 
dred of  my  Jewish  brethren  attended- 
Here  the  Lecture  was  continued  till  the 
following  July,  when  the  Committee 
procured  a  larger  place  of  worship  in 
Church  Street,  Spitalfields,  formerly  a 
French  protestant  church,  now  called— 
the  Jews*  Chapel.  In  this  place  the 
Gospel  has  continued  to  be  preached 
iive  times  every  week,  and  has  been 
well  attended  by  the  Jews,  nor  have 
these  services  been  without  a  Divine 
blessing. 

A  considerable  number  of  adults,  as 
well  as  children,  have  been  initiated  into 
the  Christian  church  by  the  ordinance 
of  baptism.  The  station  which  1  hold 
in  this  institution  makes  me  unwilling  to 
enlarge  upon  its  success,  nor  is  it  neces- 
sary that  I  should  do  so,  as  the  progress 
which  the  Society  has  made  may  more 
accurately,  as  well  as  rnorerappropriately, 
be  learned  from  the  Annual  Reports  and 
other  accounts  published  from  time  to 
time  by  the  Committee.    It  may  suffice 


106       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

to  say  that  the  Lord  has  done  great 
things;  blessed  be  his  holy  name  for 
ever  and  ever! 

The  education  of  Jewish  children  is  a 
prominent  part  of  this  Institution.  The 
Committee  have  opened  a  School  to 
board,  clothe,  and  educate  children  of 
both  sexes,  free  of  expense  to  their  par- 
ents or  friends.  It  is  with  unspeakable 
pleasure  I  can  state  to  the  public  that 
no  less  than  60  Boys,  and  44  Girls  have 
been  received  under  the  patronage  c£ 
this  Society.  Many  of  these  children 
who  w^ere  ignorant  of  their  duty  towards 
God  and  towards  men,  and  lived  in  the 
commission  of  various  sins,  have  been 
reclaimed  from  their  immoralities,  and 
given  evidence  of  future  usefulness  by 
their  exemplary  conduct.  It  is  even 
hoped  that  some  of  the  boys  will  be- 
come pious  and  zealous  Missionaries  to 
the  scattered  children  of  Israel,  an  em- 
ployment for  which,  in  dependence  on 
the  Divine  blessing,  they  are  training,  by 
the  Society.  '¥'0  Lord!  speak  the  word, 
and  great  shall  be  the  company  of  them 
that  shall  publish  the  glad  tidings  of 
Salvation,3' 


a  Converted  Jew.  107 

The  distribution  of  religious  tracts  is 
a  mean  which  God  has  often  blessed  to 
those  who  otherwise  would  have  contin- 
ued ignorant  of  the  things  which  belong 
to  their  salvation,  and  has  been  adopted 
by  the  London  Society.  Fifteen  appro- 
priate Tracts  have  been  composed,  sev- 
eral of  which  have  been  printed  in  the 
Hebrew  and  German,  as  well  as  in  the 
English  languages:  some  thousands  of 
these  tracts  have  been  sent  abroad.  The 
bread  thus  scattered  on  the  face  of  the 
waters,  may  be  gathered  after  many  days.* 

It  being  a  standing  law  amongst  the 
Jews  "that  whoever  confesses  Jesus  to 
be  the  Christ  shall  be  cast  out  of  the 
Synagogue;"  the  reader  will  not  be  sur- 
prised to  learn  that  many  of  these  who 
have  either  attended  at  the  Jews'  Chapel, 
or  sent  their  children  to  the  School,  have 
been  publicly  excommunicated,  lost 
their  employment  amongst  the  Jews, 
and  been  persecuted  by  their  own 
friends  with  as  much  violence  as  a  due 
regard  to  their  own  safety,  with  refer- 
ence  to  the  existing  laws  of  the  country, 

*  A  large  assortment  of  Religious  Tracts,  sold  for  the 
benefit  of  the  New  England  Tract  Society,  may  be  had  ver^r 
cheap  of  S.  T.  Armstrong,  No.  50,  Cornhill,  Boston. 


106       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

would  permit.  To  afford  such  persons 
an  opportunity  of  providing  for  them- 
selves by  their  own  industry,  the  Socie- 
ty have  established  a  Printing  office  and 
a  Cotton  Manufactory,  where  several 
Jews  of  both  sexes  are  employed. — Hav- 
ing thus  briefly  stated  how  the  Lord  has 
led  me  these  forty  years  in  the  wilder- 
ness, together  with  the  origin  and  pro- 
gress of  my  labors  amongst  my  Jewish 
brethren,  the  house  of  Israel,  I  shall 
conclude  with 

CHAt*.  VIII. 

AN  ADDRESS  TO  C  KRIS  TIANS  OP  ALJU 
DENOMINATIONS,  IN  BEHALF  OF 
THE    DESCENDANTS  OF    ABRAHAM. 

God  is  good,  and  does  good,  his  tender 
mercies  are  over  all  his  creatures,  yet,  he 
is  especially  good  to  them  that  are  of 
the  household  of  faith.  It  is  a  faithful 
saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation, 
that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to 
save  sinners;  yet  it  is  not  less  true,  that 
he  came  not  but  to  seek  the  lost  sheep 
of  the  house  of  Israel.  To  preach  the 
Gospel  among  the  Gentiles,  was 
press  commission  of  the  Apostle  Paul, 


a  Converted  Jew.  109 

and  among  them  he  labored  more  abun- 
dantly! yet,  for  his  brethren  and  kins- 
men after  the  flesh,  only,  do  we  hear 
him  say,  I  could  wish  myself  accursed 
from  Christ.  Soon  after  my  conversion 
I  felt  a  great  desire  to  promote  the  sal- 
vation  of  all  men,  yet  my  most  frequent 
and  fervent  prayer  to  God  was,  that  Israel 
might  be  saved.  By  the  kind  provi- 
dence ©f  God  I  was  brought  to  this 
country,  where  for  more  than  six  years 
I  have  had  the  honor  and  pleasure  of 
being  employed  in  endeavoring  to  pro- 
mote the  salvation  of  my  beloved  breth- 
ren the  Jews,  by  declaring  unto  them 
the  unsearchable  riches  of  glory  by 
Christ  Jesus.  Considering  the  peculiar 
nature  and  difficulties  of  this  work,  I  may 
well  say,  much  has  been  done  in  a  short 
time,  much  more,  however,  may,  and 
must  be  done,  before  all  Israel  can  be 
saved.  The  object  is  noble,  and  the 
success,  sooner  or  later,  is  certain.  The 
harvest  is  great,  but,  alas!  the  laborers 
are  few.  Permit  me,  therefore,  Chris- 
tian reader,  to  invite  you  to  come  over 
and  help  us.  In  the  following  address 
I  shall  call  your  attention  to} 
10 


110       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

1.  The  deplorable  state  of  the  Jews: 

2.  The  chief  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
their  conversion: 

3.  The  obligations  of  Christians  to 
promote  this  object:   and, 

4.  The  means  by  which  it  may  be 
assisted. 

In  the  first  place  we  shall  contemplate 
the  present  deplorable  state  of  the  Jews. 
1.  Let  us  ta&e  a  short  survey  of  their 
temporal,  moral,  and  religious  state. 
From  profane,  as  well  as  from  sacred 
history,  we  learn  that  the  children  of 
Israel  were  for  successive  ages,  the  light 
of  the  world,  and  the  glory  of  the  whole 
earth;  but,  alas!  what  has  been  their 
condition  for  centuries  past,  even  to  the 
present  day!  "The  crown  is  fallen  from 
their  head;  the  gold  is  become  dim,  the 
most  fine  gold  is  changed, "  the  nation, 
once  exalted  to  the  pinnacle  of  honor, 
has,  for  more  than  seventeen  hundred 
years,  been  a  hissing  and  a  proverb 
amongst  the  people;  hated  and  persecut- 
ed, scattered,  and  peeled  by  every  nation; 
strangers  and  sojourners  in  every  coun- 
try, without  the  liberty  of  purchasing  or 
possessing  an  inheritance,  or  enjoying 


a  Gmveried  Jew.  Ill 

the  privileges  of  citizens! — Notwith- 
standing all  this,  confiding  in  their  nat- 
ural descent  from  Abraham,  and  view- 
ing themselves  still  as  God's  ancient 
people,  they  are  puffed  up  with  pride, 
imagining  themselves  to  be  "rich  and 
increased  with  goods,  and  to  have  need 
of  nothing,  not  knowing  that  they  aro 
wretched,  and  miserable,  and  poor,  and 
blind,  and  naked." 

Besides  this,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is 
departed  from  the  house  of  Israel,  and 
the  wfath  of  God  is  come  upon  them  to 
the  uttermost.  The  spirit  of  grace  and 
supplication,  has  been  withdrawn  from 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  Abraham, 
and  blindness  in  part,  (alas,  how  great  a 
part!)  hath  happened  unto  Israel.  How 
lax  their  moral  principles,  how  degraded 
their  conduct,  how  much  is  it  to  be  la- 
mented, that  few  amongst  them  either 
fear  God  or  regard  man.  The  golden 
rule — thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself,  is  still  in  their  Bible,  and  ac 
knowledged  by  their  Rabbies  as  the 
great  universal  precept  of  the  law.  But 
"who  is  my  neighbor,''  is  a  question 
which  receives  a  very  different  explana- 


112        The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

lion  from  the  Christian  and  the  Jew* 
The  former  is  taught  by  Jesus  Christ  to 
extend  it  to  every  one  of  the  human 
race;  whilst  the  latter,  according  to  the 
tradition  of  the  Rabbies,  applies  the  term 
"neighbor,"  to  his  Jewish  brother  only, 
and  to  the  proselyte  who  embraces  the 
law  of  Moses.  It  is  not,  therefore,  to  be 
wondered  at.  should  a  Jew  at  anv  time 
be  found  guilty  of  defrauding  a  Chris- 
tian, especially  as  the  rabbies  themselves 
are  not  agreed  whether  to  defraud  a 
stranger,  is  lawful  or  not. 

We  may  look  in  vain  also  for  the 
chastity  of  Joseph,  among  the  greater 
number  of  the  present  Jews.  Multi- 
tudes of  them  follow  the  doctrine  and 
example  of  their  most  renowned  Rab- 
bies,* who,  instead  of  considering  for- 
nication as  a  sin  most  heinous  in  the 
sight  of  God,  and  pernicious  to  the  sin- 
ner, gloried  in  tho  commission  of  it 
themselves. 

Though  exceedingly  painful  to  my 
feelings,  thus  to  lay  open  the  blindness, 
guilt,  and  misery,  of  a  people  so  dear  to 

*Kiddushia  91.  8,  2. 


a  Converted  Jew.  113 

me,  yet  to  obtain  the  desired  end  of  this 
Address,  I  must  proceed  at  least  one 
step  farther,  and  notice  the  carnality  and 
irreverence  of  their  religious  worship. 
From  the  days  of  Abraham  to  those 
of  Christ,  true  religion  was  only  to  be 
found  in  the  tabernacle  of  Jacob.  Whilst 
all  nations  had  sunk  into  ignorance, 
idolatry,  and  misery,  the  posterity  of 
Abraham  was  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal 
priesthood,  a  holy  nation;  but  from  the 
period  when  the  tribe  of  Judah  was  pre- 
vented,  by  the  destruction  of  the  holy 
city,  and  temple  by  Titus,  from  going 
up  to  Jerusalem  at  the  solemn  feasts,  it 
seems  that  holy  dispositions  and  spiri- 
tuality of  worship  also  fled  from  their 
hearts. 

At  that  time  the  branches  were  cut  off 
from  the  true  olive  tree,  and,  Ol  how 
barren  and  unfruitful  have  they  been 
for  nearly  1800  years.  Where  are  the 
fruits  of  the  spirit,  such  as  love,  joy, 
peace,  long- suffering,  gentleness,  good- 
ness, faith,  meekness,  and  temperance? 
Christians  know,  and  the  Jews  should 
learn  that  I  am  here  speaking  of  these 
qualifications  as  the  genuine  fruits  and  ef- 
*10 


ii4        The  Life  of  Mr.  Fretj, 

fects  of  religion,  a  right  faith  and  the 
fear  of  God.  There  are,  no  doubt  to 
be  found  amongst  the  Jews,  as  well  as 
ihe  Heathens,  Mahometans,  and  nomi- 
nal Christians,  instances  of  natural  good 
dispositions  and  moral  feelings,  but  these 
have  nothing  to  do  with  genuine  reli- 
gion, see  Matt,  xix,  16.  Are  there  any 
of  Abraham's  children  who  possess  the 
holy,  gracious,  and  heavenly  dispositions 
of  Abraham?  Do  they,  like  him,  declare 
by  their  conduct,  that  they  have  here  no 
continuing  city,  but  that  they  seek  one 
to  come? 

We  shall  meet  with  equal  and  pain- 
ful  disappointment  if  we  expect  to 
find  a  Jew  engaged  at  the  family  altar, 
or  in  secret  devotion.  How  different 
was  the  worship  of  believers  under  the 
Old  Testament.  The  voice  of  religion 
and  salvation  was  in  the  tabernacle  of  the 
righteous.  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
wherever  they  pitched  their  tents,  built 
an  altar  for  family  worship.  Joshua  and 
his  own  household  served  the  Lord.— • 
Daniel  prayed  upon  his  knees  three 
times  a  day,  and  from  the  book  of 
Psalms  it  is  evident,  that  David  the  king 


a  Converted  Jew.  115 

of  Israel,  must  have  spent  much  time, 
and  found  great  delight  in  private  medi- 
tation and  fervent  prayer;  nor  does  he 
deserve  the  name  of  an  Israelite,  who 
wrestles  not  with  God  by  prayer  and 
supplication  like  Jacob  our  father. 

The  Jews,  indeed,  go  frequently  to 
the  synagogue  to  perform  public  wor- 
ship;   but  can  that  service  be  pleasing 
to   God   or  profitable  to  man,  which  is 
generally  performed  without  reverence 
or  godly  fear?    It  was  not   beside  the 
mark   when   a   late    author    observed; 
that  "a  modern  synagogue  exhibits  an 
appearance  of  very  little  more  devotion, 
than  the  Stock  Exchange,  or  the  public 
streets  of  the  Metropolis  at  noon-day!!" 
Nor  is   it  very  surprising,    considering 
that  few,  very  few  indeed,   understand 
the  literal  meaning  of  their   prayers  m 
the   language    in  which  they  are  read. 
Could  it  therefore  be  expected  o  her  wise, 
that  God  should    visit  the  hypocrisy  of 
Israel  with  the  punishments  threatened 
by   the   mouth   of  Isaiah   the  prophet. 
"  Wherefore  the  Lord  said,  forasmuch  as 
this  people  draw  near  unto  me  with  their 
mouth,  and  with  their  lips  do  hpnpr  me, 


116        The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

but  have  removed  their  hearts  far  from 
me,  and  their  fear  towards  me  is  taught 
by  the  precepts  of  man,  therefore,  behold 
I  will  proceed  to  do  a  marvellous  work 
among  this  people,  even  a  marvellous 
work,  and  a  wonder,  for  the  wisdom  of 
their  wise  men  shall  perish;  and  the  un- 
derstanding of  their  prudent  men  shall  be 
hid,"  Isa.  xxix,  13,  14. 

%  The  lamentable  condition  of  the 
Jews,  may  also  be  deduced  by  contrast- 
ing their  present  state  with  the  scriptu- 
ral account  of  real  happiness,  of  which 
the  unbelieving  Jew  is  wholly  destitute. 
Both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament, 
that  people  and  those  individuals  only, 
were  counted  happy  and  blessed,  who 
knew  the  way  of  salvation,  whose  sins 
were  forgiven,  who  lived  in  communion 
with  God,  and  enjoyed  the  light  of  his 
countenance.* 

The  true  Christian  is  convinced  of 
the  realitv  of  these  assertions,  for  he  has 
more  or  less  experienced  them  himself, 
and  the  New  Testament  abounds  with 
passages  in  confirmation  of  the  same 
truth.     How  often  have  our  blessed  Re- 

•  PsaJin  bexxixj  15  tQ-18.— *x;ui,  lx  2,-jrIxv,  4.<— iv,  0yT 


a  Converted  Jew.  117 

deemer  and  bis  apostles  assured  us,  that 
without  believing  in  him,  as  the  Mes- 
siah, and  without  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  upon  the  heart  of  the  sinner? 
there  is  no  deliverance  from  spiritual 
misery,  no  title  to  eternal  life,  no  fitness 
for  the  service  and  enjoyment  of  God  in 
the  life  which  now  is,  or  in  that  which  is 
to  come.*  If  these  declarations  be  true, 
(and  who  can  deny  them?)  how  misera* 
ble  must  the  poor  Jew  be,  who  rejects 
the  salvation  of  our  God,  and  trusts  ia 
his  own  righteousness,  "O!  that  my 
head  were  waters,  and  mine  eyes  a  foun- 
tain of  tears,  that  I  might  weep  day  and 
night  for  the  slain  of  the  daughters  of 
my  people." 

1  cannot  conclude  this  part  of  the  ad- 
dress,  without  observing,  that  having 
been  myself  born  a  Jew,  having  lived 
amongst  that  people  for  more  than  twen- 
ty years,  and  having  had  opportunities 
of  seeing  and  knowing  Jews  in  different 
countries,  and  in  different  circumstances, 

*  John  iii,  S,  46.  Acts  iy,  12.  John  xiv,  6.  Rom.  v,  1; 
vi,23;  viii,9.  Gal.  iii,  13.  Euh,.  i,  7.  1  Thes.  i,  10.  Heb 
vii,  14. 


118       The  Life  of  Mr.  Fretj, 

I  can  assure  the  reader,  that  I  scarcely 
met  with  any  walking  with  God,  like 
Enoch;  patient  in  tribulation,  like  Job, 
or  saying,  as  he  did,  "I  know  that  my 
Redeemer  liveth;"  panting  after  com- 
munion with  God,  as  holy  David,  or  as 
Paul  the  apostle,  and  like  genuine  Chris- 
tians in  all  ages,  desirous  to  depart  and 
be  with  God,  as  far  better. — "What 
shall  we  eat?  what  shall  we  drink?  and 
wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed?"  is  the 
only  anxiety  of  the  Jew,  as  well  as  the 
heathen.  The  awful  description  which 
the  apostle  gave  of  the  condition  of  the 
Ephesians,  before  their  conversion,  is 
loo  applicable  to  my  brethren  and  kins- 
men after  the  flesh;  "They  are  without 
Christ,  without  hope,  and  whhout  God 
in  the  world."  "O!  that  the  salvation 
of  Israel  were  come  out  of  Zion;  when 
the  Lord  bringeth  back  the  captivity  of 
his  people,  Jacob  shall  rejoice  and  Israel 
shall  be  glad." 

From  this  brief  statement  of  the  de- 
plorable condition  of  the  Jews,  consid- 
ered in  a  temporal,  moral,  and  religious 
view,  with  a  scriptural  account  of  real 
happiness,  of  which  the  unbelieving  Jew 


a  Converted  Jew.  119 

must  be  destitute;  may  I  not  hope, 
Christian  reader,  that  you  will  "come 
Gver  and  help  us,"  in  promoting  their 
conversion,  by  which  alone  they  can  be 
delivered  from  present  and  eternal  mis- 
ery. Should  any  inquire  what  particu- 
lar need  there  is  of  help?  may  they  not 
attend  on  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
as  well  as  others?  I  answer  in  the  nega- 
tive, and  proceed, 

Secondly,  To  point  out  the  chief  dif- 
ficulties which  encounter  a  Jew,  who 
seeks  to  know  the  way  of  salvation. 

The  first  and  chief  difficulty  which 
claims  our  attention,  is  their  ignorance 
of  God's  method  of  salvation;  this  is  ( 
owing  to  their  defective  education,  their 
neglect  of  the  Bible,  and  the  inirequen- 
cy  of  preaching  among  them.  God,  in 
infinite  mercy,  has  revealed  how  a  sin- 
ner may  be  justified,  sanctified,  and 
eternally  glorified.  This  revelation  was 
made  to  the  Jews  first;  but  how  differ- 
ent are  their  circumstances  now!  blind- 
ness indeed  has  happened  unto  Israel; 
few  of  them  have  any  knowledge  what- 
ever of  the  Messiah.  How  can  it  be 
expected    otherwise,  when  we  see  ihs 


120         The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

rising  generation  neglected?  The  chil- 
dren of  both  sexes,  instead  of  being  ed- 
ucated in  religious  knowledge,  and  use- 
ful  employments,  are  driven  into  the 
streets,  at  the  tender  age  of  nine  or  ten 
years,  (a  time  of  life  which  peculiarly 
needs  restraint  and  instruction,)  to  pro- 
vide for  themselves,  or  to  assist  in  the 
maintenance  of  the  family.  It  is  most 
melancholy  to  find  that  very  few  of  them 
can  read  any  language  but  Hebrew,  and 
fewer  still  who  understand  she  meaning 
when  they  can  read  it!  so  that,  if  they 
had  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament  in 
Hebrew,  of  what  benefit  would  it  be  to 
the  generality  of  theip?  for  the  mind  will 
be  no  more  instructed  by  reading,  than 
the  heart  can  be  edified  by  praying  in 
an  unknown  tongue.  It  must  also  be 
acknowledged,  that  though  the  way  of 
salvation  was  revealed  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, yet  few,  if  any,  can  see  the  sub- 
stance through  the  types  and  shadows 
without  the  New  Testament,  or  human 
aid,  or  the  immediate  teaching  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Besides  this,  it  has  alrea- 
dy been  observed,  (page  21,)  that  those 
uu  ts  of  the  Old  Testament  which  con- 


a  Converted  Jew.  121 

tain  the  clearest  revelations  of  the  Mes- 
siah, are  withheld  from  the  generality  of 
the  Jews.  Add  to  this,  there,  is  no 
preaching  in  Synagogues  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  end  of  the  year,  except  a 
few  occasional  exhortations,*  enforcing 
the  strict  observance  of  Judaism,  with 
all  its  superstitions,  and  renewing  the 
threatenings  against  those  who  are,  in 
the  least  degree,  even  suspected  of  in- 
quiring  into  the  truth  of  Christianity. 
We  need  not  be  surprised  then,  to  find 
that  the  descendants  of  Abraham  aje  ig- 
norant of  that  Messiah,  in  whom  he  be- 
lieved, and  to  whom  therefore  it  was 
counted  for  righteousness. 

If  it  be  yet  said,  might  not  the  Jews 
have  their  children  instructed  in  Sunday 
Schools,  and  in  other  charitable  institu- 
tions, and  may  they  not  attend  on  Chris- 
tian  places  of  worship,  and  hear  the  joy- 
ful sound?  I  proceed  to  noiice, — 

2.  The  sufferings  to  which  this  would 
expose  them,  as  another  difficulty  in  the 
way  of  their  conversion.  It  is  certain 
that  there  were  not  a  few  in  the  days  of 
oiir  Lord,  who  were  convinced  of  the 

•  See  a  former  page  of  this  work. 

11 


122       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

truth  of  his  Messiahship,  bwt  were 
afraid  to  confess  it,*  because  of  the 
law,  "that  if  any  man  did  confess  that 
he  was  the  Christ,  he  should  be  put  out 
of  the  Synagogue,"  John  ix,  22;  this 
illiberal  and  unjust  edict,  has  been  fre- 
quently renewed  of  late  years,  and  circu- 
lated amongst  the  Jews  In  this  kingdom. 
(See  a  former  page;)  It  is  not  to  be 
expected,  therefore,  that  they  would 
thus  expose  themselves  to  hatred,  per- 
secution, and  the  loss  of  their  daily  sub- 
sistence, merely  for  the  sake  of  the  edu- 
cation of  their  children,  the  value  of 
which  thry  never  knew  by  experience, 
especially  as  they  have  heretofore  known 
the  difficulty  of  finding  protection  and 
maintenance  amongst  Christians, 

Let  it  be  remembered  also,  that  as 
soon  as  the  poor  Jew  sends  his  children 
to  a  Christian  school,  he  is  sure  of  losing 
at  least  one  or  two  shillings  a  day,  which 
each  child  would  have  gained  by  selling 
small  articles  in  the  streets  of  the  Me- 
tropolis. Nor  is  it  more  reasonable  to 
expect  that  mere  curiosity  would  have  a 
greater  influence  upon  the  mind   of  a 

*  See  John  iii,  1,  2.-— xii,  42.—  \ix,  38 


a  Converted  Jew.  123 

Jew  than  the  certainty  of  exposing;  him- 
self to  inconveniences,  losses,  and  even 
the  hazard  of  life,  by  attending  a  place 
of  Christian  worship.  Let  the  following 
facts  be  well  weighed  by  the  Christian 
reader,  and  may  they  excite  gratitude 
and  praise  that  he  is  permitted  to  sit 
down  under  his  vine  and  fig-tree,  none 
daring  to  disturb  him;  on  the  other  hand, 
mav  it  lead  him  to  "come  over  and  help 
us/" 

The  following  remarkable  account  is 
extracted  from  the  well  authenticated 
narrative  of  Solomon  Duitch,  a  learned 
Rabbi,  and  teacher  of  several  Syna- 
gogues  in  Germany,  who,  having  trav- 
elled for  seven  years,  from  place  to  place, 
under  doubts  as  to  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity, at  length  openly  confessed  hirou* 
self  a  Disciple  of  Christ,  and  lived -ar?d 
died  in  Holland,  as  a  Minister  of  the  ev- 
erlasting Gospel.  The  Rev,  Mr.  Vos,-: 
a  Missionary,  had  been  his  fellow  stu- 
dent at  the  University  of  Utrecht,  a: 
they  frequently  afterwards,  in  the  exer- 
cise of  tiieir  ministry,  exchanged  pulpits 
with  each  other.   . 


124       The  Life  of  Mr.  Freij, 

"In  the  year  1762,  Oct.  21,  I  arrived 
at  one  of  the  chief  cities  of  Saxony, 
which  for  particular  reasons,  I  shall  not 
mention*  The  Rabbi  of  the  city  behaved 
in  the  most  friendly  manner  to  me.  The 
24th  of  November,  I  had  read  so  far  in 
tu\  Bible  as  the  53d  chapter  of  Isaiah, 
wlich  I  took  now  for  the  first  time  un- 
der my  proper  consideration.  The  Lord 
was  pit  ased  to  open  the  eyes  of  my  un- 
derstanding, plainly  to  comprehend  that 
the  prophet  spake  here  of  the  Messiah, 
who  was  to  suffer  death  for  our  sins. 
But  Satan  endeavored  to  raise  in  me 
many  doubts  against  that  explanation. 
Wherefore  I  resolved  to  converse  with 
my  friend,  (the  above  named  Rabbi) 
about  the  contents  of  this  chapter:  neither 
could  1  find  rest  within  me  till  I  actually 
weBt  to  him.  I  had  scarcely  introduced 
my- desire,  when  he  looked  steadfastly  in 
my  face,  and  made  signs  with  his  eyes 
to  be  silent,  immediately  repeating  some- 
thing out  of  the  Talmud.  In  the  even- 
ing  his  wife  and  children  went  to  the 
pi  v-house,  leaving  us  to  ourselves;  they 
were  scarcely  out  of  sight,  before  he  took 
me  into  another  room,  which  he  locked 


a  Converted  Jew.  125 

upon  us;  this  put  me  into  a  terrible 
fright,  imagining  for  certain,  that  he  h^d 
received  some  intelligence  of  my  ca^e, 
and  would  now  seek  to  make  me  answer* 
*ble  for  my  conduct  with  my  lire. 

"But  I  was  soon  freed  from  taj  fears, 
when,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  he  spake 
thus  to  me:  *0,  Mr.  Solomon  my  be* 
loved  and  faithful  brother!  I  will  disclose 
all  the  secrets  of  my  heart  unto  you;  but 
it  is  under  the  express  condition  that  you 
keep  the  secret,  for  if  the  least  word 
should  get  vent  by  you  among  the  Jews, 
I  should,  for  my  own  security,  charge 
you  with  what  I  shall  confess  to  you, 
and  make  you  the  author  of  it;  in  which 
case,  it  is  easy  to  comprehend  what  a 
persecution  you  would  be  exposed  to. 
This  presupposed,  I  will  now  no  longer 
withhold  from  you  the  secrets  of  my 
heart.  Did  you  not  desire  me  to  explain 
to  you  the  53d  of  Isaiah?  Having  an- 
swered in  the  affirmative,  he  went  into 
another  room,  and  brought  from  thence 
a  German  Bible,  cut  of  which  he  read 
to  me,  with  the  greatest  reverence  and 
devotion,  the  26th  chapter  of  Matthew, 
and  then  addressed  me  thus:  *My  be- 
*11 


126       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

loved  friend,  you  see  here,  in  the  53d  of 
Isaiah,  the  clearest  prophecy  of  the  Mes- 
siah, who  should  be  scorned  and  despised, 
and  even  suffer  death,  and  for  what"?  for 
his  own  trespasses?  O,  no!  it  was  for  our 
iniquities  and  for  our  trespasses;  which 
you  will  clearly  perceive,  and  even  must 
be  allowed  by  many  of  our  Rabbies. 
But  in  that  chapter  which  I  have  read 
to  you  out  of  the  German  Book,  is  con- 
tained the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  of 
Isaiah:  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  true 
Mtssiah;  but  alas!  what  an  unhappy 
thing  is  that  to  as?  Our  forefathers, 
who  lived  in  his  days,  would  not  receive, 
nor  acknowledge  him,  as  the  true  Mes- 
siah and  Savior;  and  should  you  ask  me 
why  they  did  not,  I  could  answer  you  a 
great  deal  on  that  head;  but  I  am  sorry 
our  time  is  too  short  to  give  a  full  in- 
sight into  the  extreme  blindness  and 
prejudices  of  our  forefathers  in  general 
in  those  days:  their  poor  and  unhappy 
offspring,  following  their  example,  have 
continued  in  their  blind  ways,  and  have 
led  us  on  as  blind  leaders  to  this  very 
day.  O!  what  shall  I,  poor  wretched 
creature,  now  do  or  undertake?  I  see 


a  Converted  Jew.  127 

clearly  the  beams  of  the  sun  shining  in- 
to my  understanding,  but  cannot  possi- 
bly rise  out  of  the  dark  cloud.  How 
could  I  leave  my  wife,  whom  I  love  as 
myself?  and  how  could  I  abandon  my 
children  who  are  of  my  own  flesh  and 
blood?  O,  my  heart!  my  fatherly  heart 
cannot  bear  the  thought  of  it!  Besides, 
by  what  means  could  I  get  my  bread? 
I  cannot  labor,  having  learned  no  busi- 
ness; and  to  seek  my  support  from  char- 
ity is  revolting  against  my  nature:  be- 
_  sides  this,  I  am  afraid  of  being  turned 
off  by  the  Christians,  who,  without 
doubt,  would  mistrust  my  sincerity, 
after  they  have  so  often  been  deceived 
by  false  and  inconstant  proselytes.  What 
shall  I  do,  miserable  as  I  am!' 

Having  related  to  him  all  the  ways  in 
which  the  Lord  had  led  me  from  the  be- 
ginning, he  fell  down  on  his  knees  and 
shed  a  flood  of  tears.  It  is  impossible 
for  me  to  describe  the  anxiety  of  his 
sou!;  he  prayed  with  a  broken  and  con- 
trite heart  before  God,  that  he  might  in 
pity  look  down  upon  him,  and  grant  him 
the  same  grace  as  to  me;  to  deny  him- 
self and  unloose  his  heart  from  all  tern- 


128       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

poral  concerns,  enabling  him  to  rely  and 
trust  in  him  alone.  As  the  foregoing 
anecdote  illustrates  the  fear  of  man,  so 
the  following  will  shew  that  it  is  not 
without  a  foundation. 

"An  aged  man,  of  the  name  of  Bar- 
nard  Jacobs,  living  in  Petticoat  Lane, 
brought  t\\To  children  to  the  Committee 
for  reception  into  the  School,  and  also 
expressed  his  wish  to  attend  the  service 
of  the  Chapel  himself.  No  sooner  was 
it  known  that  he  had  been  to  the  Jews' 
Chapel,  than  he  was  assaulted  by  his 
brethren,  who  not  only  broke  his  win- 
dows and  injured  his  furniture,  but  de- 
clared they  would  murder  him  if  he  fell 
into  their  hands.  For  a  time  the  Society 
were  obliged  to  furnish  him  with  the 
protection  of  a  constable,  but  impru- 
dently venturing  into  the  street  without 
his  defender,  the  Jews  seized  him,  and 
beat  him  with  sticks  in  so  dreadful  a 
manner,  as  to  cover  the  poor  old  man 
with  bruises. " 

That^he  spirit  of  persecution  has  not 
yet  ceased  amongst  Christians,  appears 
from  the  case  of  "a  young  man,  by  trade 


a  Converted  Jew.  129 

a  butcher,  who,  in  consequence  of  at- 
tending the  Chapel,  was  thrown  out  of 
bread.  He  applied  to  the  Society  to 
assist  him  in  procuring  some  way  of 
livelihood.  They  endeavored  to  get 
him  employment  in  Leadenhall  Market, 
where  it  was  no  sooner  discovered  that 
he  was  a  Jew,  than  every  man  in  the 
employ  of  the  carcase  butchers,  refused 
to  work  with  him.  A  second  effort  was 
made,  by  a  member  of  the  Committee, 
to  procure  him  employment  in  another 
line  of  business,  and  on  his  proposing  to 
bind  him  as  an  apprentice,  the  antipathy 
to  Jews,  common  to  uninformed  people, 
was  immediately  evinced:  all  the  men  in 
the  employ,  declaring  they  would  quit 
their  master  if  he  took  a  Jew  as  an  ap- 
prentice. Thus,  the  poor  Jew,  whose 
mind  becomes  opened  to  Christianity  is 
not  only  exposed  to  the  persecutions  of 
his  unbelieving  brethren,  but  he  is  also 
rejected  by  the  prejudiced  and  unin- 
formed in  Christian  Society." 

It  is  right  to  observe,  that  this  young 
man  has  been,  for  a  considerable  time  at 


130       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

the  Society's  Printing  Office,  with  much 
credit  to  himself. 

Another  reason  has  been  assigned,  in 
page  18,  of  the  Third  Report  of  the 
London  Society,  why  Jews  do  not  attend 
our  churches  and  chapels  to  hear  the 
ministers  of  the  Christian  religion,  to 
which  place  I  refer  the  reader,  and  pro- 
ceed  to  notice, 

3d.  The  early  prejudices  of  the  Jews 
against  the  Christian  religion,  is  another 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  their  conversion. 
Perhaps  no  difficulty  is  harder  to  be  re- 
moved than  early  prejudices  in  mat- 
ters of  religion.  The  Jew  takes  care, 
as  soon  as  possible,  to  instil  prejudices 
into  the  minds  of  his  children,  against 
the  name,  religion,  and  followers  of 
Christ.  As  a  general  outline  of  this  has 
been  given  in  chap,  i,  I  shall  merely 
state,  in  this  place,  that  when  the  blessed 
name  of  Jesus  is  mentioned,  they  are 
taught  to  spit  upon  the  ground,  as  ex- 
pressive of  their  hatred!  For  the  same 
reason  they  have  given  names  peculiarly 
reproachful  to  the  Redeemer  himself,  to 
the  New  Testament,  to  the  Christian 
places  of  worship,  to  the  holy  religion  of 


a  Converted  Jew.  131 

Christ,  to  his  sacred  ordinances,  and  to 
his  humble  followers!  These  things 
have  such  an  effect  upon  many,  that 
they  consider  the  mere  repetition  of  the 
name  of  Jesus,  or  the  least  discussion 
with  his  followers,  in  matters  of  religion, 
to  be  of  a  more  defiling  nature  than  the 
eating  of  swine's  flesh,  which  is  well 
known  to  be  held  in  the  utmost  abhor- 
rence by  the  Jews. 

The  4th  and  last  difficulty  in  the  way 
of  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  which  I 
shall  notice,  is,  the  false  methods  which 
they  are  taught  to  use  in  order  to  obtain 
salvatioa.  Notwithstanding  all  that  has 
been  said,  many  of  the  Jews  would, 
doubtless,  listen  to  the  word  of  salva- 
tion, were  it  not  for  the  refuges  of  lies 
in  which  they  shelter  themselves  from 
the  wrath  to  come.  These  delusions 
are  so  numerous,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
know  where  to  begin.  As  the  Jews  in 
the  days  of  the  Apostles  had  confidence 
in  the  flesh,  because  they  had  Abraham 
for  their  father,  and  were  circumcised  on 
the  eighth  day,  so  do  they  now  hope  for 
salvation  upon  the  same  ground* 


132       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

Looking  upon  all  nations,  except 
themselves  as  idolaters,  they  believe 
that  he  uho  with  his  dying  breath 
/  repeats  the  sentence — "Hear,  O  Israel, 
the  Lord  thy  God  is  one  Lord/5  is  sure 
of  going  to  heaven,  whatever  may  have 
been  his  past  conduct! 

The  greatest  number  of  the  present 
Jews  are  like  the  ancient  Pharisees, 
whose  characteristic  was,  to  glory  and 
trust  in  their  long  prayers,  in  their  fre- 
quent fastings,  in  making  broad  their 
phylacteries,  in  their  scrupulous  pay- 
ment of  tithes,  and  in  their  abundance 
of  alms  deeds:  hence,  nothing  is  more 
common  with  them,  than  that  proverbial 
saving — "Repentance,  prayer,  and  alms- 
giving, revoke  every  evil  decree." 

On  the  ninth  day  of  the  seventh 
month,  every  Jew  confesses  his  sins 
upon  the  head  of  a  fowl;  kills  the  poor 
animal,  and  eats  the  same,  and  persuades 
himself  that  a  complete  atonement  is 
made  for  all  his  sins.  But,  alas!  they 
are  all  vain  oblations,  and  can  give  no 
peace  to  the  guilty  conscience,  nor  ad- 
minister comfort  or  support  to  the  dying 
sinner;  hence  arises  that  fear  of  death, 


a  Converted  Jew.  133 

through  which  they  are  all  their  life  time 
subject  to  bondage.  Many  times  I  have 
witnessed  the  miserable  and  despairing 
condition  of  dying  'Jews,  which  no 
tongue  can  express,  or  pen  describe. 
I  still  recollect  the  fearful  apprehensions 
of  my  own  mind  at  rhe  mere  idea  that, 
according  to  the  Jewish  traditions,  my 
body,  immediately  after  it  would  be 
consigned  to  the  grave,  would  be  beaten 
by  the  angel  of  death  with  iron  chains, 
till  each  limb  would  be  separated  from 
the  other;  and  that  the  pain  arising  from 
the  worms  eating  up  my  flesh  would  be 
as  sharp  as  the  piercing  of  the  living 
flesh  with  r-eedles. 

This-fear  of  death  is  still  increased  by 
the  superstitious,  rabbinical  doctrine  of 
purgatory 0  for  every  soul,  they  say, 
must  go  into  Gay  Hinnom;  L  e.  a  place 
of  misery,  to  endure  the  most  horrible 
sufferings,  as  an  atonement  for  his  sins. 
To  shorten  the  period  of  his  punish- 
merit,  every  male  child  must  repeat  cer- 
tain prayers  for  the  soul  of  his  departed 
parent,  morning  and  evening,  for  eleven 
months,  and  keep  the  anniversary-day 
by  burning  a  light  for  twenty-four  hours, 
12 


134       T  e  Life  of  Mr.  Freij, 

fasting  the  whole  day,  and  praying  morn- 
ing and  evening  in  the  synagogue. 
Where  there  is  no  male  child,  a  learned 
man  is  hired  to  perform  this  ceremony. 
Frequently  have  I  sustained  this  office 
whilst  I  continued  a  Jewish  teacher  and 
reader  in  the  synagogue.  That  this  sen- 
timent is  believed  and  acted  upon  by  the 
Jews  in  London,  may  be  seen  by  the 
following  paper,  lately  published  and 
circulated  under  the  sanction  of  the  pre- 
siding Rabbi: 

"God  has  left  a  remnant  in  the  su- 
perb city  of  London:  may  he  thus  con- 
tinue to  add  to  us,  until  Shiloh  come. 
Amen. 

"We  hereby  make  known,  that  we, 
being  seventy  in  number,  have  underta- 
ken to  establish  an  important  matter  for 
the  sake  of  heaven,  and  for  the  benefit 
of  that  class  of  poor  who  often  die  in 
the  streets,  through  some  illness,  or  in- 
firmities of  age,  having  no  friend,  much 
less  family  to  take  care  of  them  at  such 
a  time.  An  instance  of  this  happened 
on  Wednesday,  Parshath  Wayairah. 
One  of  the  above-mentioned  class  had 
been  ill  for^many  days,  unknown  to  any 


a  Converted  Jew.  135 

body;  but  it  came,  at  last,  miraculously 
to  the  knowledge  of  some  of  our  breth- 
ren, the  seed  of  Abraham,  and  we  im- 
mediately adopted  that  measure  whereby 
we  are  distinguished  from  other  nations, 
viz.  bestowing  charity.  We  maintain- 
ed him  till  the  dav  of  his  death,  which 
happened  a  few  days  after  our  discove- 
ry; and,  after  his  death,  we  went  to  his 
funeral;  said  prayers  for  his  soid  for  the 
first  seven  days,  and  had  likewise  alight 
burning  for  him.  From  that  period,  we 
joined  in  forming  a  society  for  the  relief 
of  such.  It  happened,  moreover,  on 
Friday,  the  11th  of  Adar  the  first,  that 
we  were  informed  of  a  pious  man,  called 
Rabbi  Jacob,  who  had  lain  many  nights 
in  the  street,  before  the  door  of  Mr. 
Cox,  Petticoat-lane.  We  ordered  him 
to  be  taken  into  a  room  which  we  had 
hired  for  that  purpose,  where  he  had  all 
due  attendance  till  his  death,  which  hap- 
pened on  Wednesday,  the  l5th  of  Adar 
the  second,  when  he  was  buried  in  due 
form.  Therefore  we  hope  that  this  will 
be  taken  into  consideration,  and  will 
tend  to  strengthen  our  Institution. 
Surely   by   doing  so  we  sl>ail  keep  the 


136       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

following  command: — After  the  Lord 
your  God  shall  ye  walk.  Then  will  the 
Lord  comfort  Zion,  and  send  the  ttue 
Redeemer,     Amen/'    v 

I  shall  mention  only  one  thing  more 
which  the  rabbles  consider  efficacious  to 
procure  pardon  and  resonciliation  for 
sin;  viz*  the  transmigration  of  the  soul. 
This  heathenish  doctrine  has  also  been 
adopted  by  the  Jews  when  they  lost 
sight  of  the  w-.-iy  of  salvation  by  the 
Messiah.  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Fa- 
ther of  my  Lord  and  Savior  JesusChristf 
who  has  redeemed  me,  not  with  corrup- 
tible things,  such  as  silver  and  gold, 
from  the  vain  conversation  received  by 
tradition  from  my  fathers,  but  with  the 
precious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  lamb 
without  blemish  and  without  spot.  Nev- 
er let  me  forget  the  wonderful  love  and 
condescension  of  my  blessed  Savior 
who  took  part  of  flesh  and  blood,  that 
through  death  he  might  destroy  him 
that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is  the 
devil,  and  deliver  them  who  through 
fear  of  death  were  all  their  life  time 
subject  to  bondage. 


a  Converted  Jew.  137 

From  this  short  statement  of  some  of 
the  chief  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
conversion  of  the  Jews,  I  trust  the  read- 
er is  convinced  that  much  help  is  needed 
to  accomplish  tins  great  and  glorious, 
but  long-neglected,  object.  If  any  one 
should  still  be  hesitating  whether  it  be 
his  duty  to  aid  in  promoting  their  con- 
version, it  would  not  be  difficult  to  heap 
argument  upon  argument  to  enforce  it. 

The  reader  may  see  this  subject  fur- 
ther treated  of  in  a  masterly  Sermon 
preached  by  the  Rev.  D.  Bogue,  at 
Tottenham-court  Chapel,  1810,  and  in  a 
pamphlet  published  by  the  London  So- 
ciety,*    I  shall,  therefore,  only  notice 

III.  A  few  motives  to  excite  the 
zealous  exertions  of  Christians  to  pro- 
mote the  conversion  of  the  Jews: 

1st.  It  is  no  more  than  common  jus- 
tice that  Christians  should  unite  in  the 
most  strenuous  exertions  to  promote 
the  welfare  of  that  people.vvho  have  been 
hated,  persecuted*  spoiled,  and  massa- 
cred amongst  all  nations,  but  most  of 
all   amongst  those  who  call  themselves 

'Obligations  of  Christians  to  attempt  the  conversion  of 
the  Jews. 

12* 


188       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

Christians.  To  give  but  a  short  his- 
tory of  their  sufferings  would  exceed 
the  limits  of  this  address,  and  excite 
feelings  of  commiseration  in  the  breast 
of  the  most  obdurate.  One  or  two  in* 
stances  of  the  cruel  treatment  which 
they  have  met  with  in  England,  may 
suffice  to  convince  the  reader  of  his 
duty  to  atone  for  the  injustice  of  his 
forefathers,  and  to  manifest  a  different 
spirit. 

"Upon  the  succession  of  Prince  Rich- 
ard* to  the  throne  of  his  father,  the 
Jews,  desiring  by  all  means  to  secure 
his  favor  and  protection,  flocked  from 
all  parts  of  the  kingdom  to  the  solemnity 
of  his  coronation,  which  was  performed 
at  Westminster,  being  dressed  in  their 
best  apparel,  and  bringing  many  pres- 
ents that  were  full  worthy  of  his  accept- 
ance; but  the  courtiers  as  well  as  the 
common  people,  ridiculously  imagining 
that  the  generality  of  the  Jews  were  sor- 
cerers, and  might  possibly  bewitch  the 
king  if  they  were  suffered  to  be  present 

*See  Hume's  History  of  England,  vol.  1.  This  work,  with 
continuations  comprising  15  volumes  in  all,  is  sold  by 
Samuel  T.  Armstrong*  No.  50  Cornhill,  Boston.- 


a  Converted  Jew.  139 

at  it,  orders  were  issued  out,  forbidding 
any  of  them, under  the  severest  penalties, 
to  come  near  the  palace;  but  several  of 
them,  who  had  come  a  great  way  off  on 
purpose  to  behold  the  bravery  of  it,  not 
caring  to  lose  the  labor  and  expense  of 
their  journey,  and  persuading  themselves? 
that  being  strangers  in  London,  they 
should  pass  undiscovered,  ventured,  not- 
withstanding the  proclamation,  to  appear 
at  Westminster:  but,  being,  some  how 
or  other,  found  out  by  the  officers  of  the 
Abbey,  they  were  set  upon  with  great 
violence,  and  dragged,  half-dead,  out  of 
the  church;  the  rumor  of  which  quickly 
spread  itself  into  the  city;  the  populace, 
believing  they  should  do  the  king's  plea- 
sure, immediately  broke  open  the  Jews' 
houses  and  murdered  every  one  they  could 
meet  with,  not  confining  their  rage  to 
their  persons,  but  destroying  likewise 
their  habitations  with  fire." 

The  flame  thus  kindled  in  the  me- 
tropolis, soon  extended  itself  to  every 
part  of  the  kingdom.  Passing  by  the 
horrible  massacre  committed  by  the 
Christians  at  Norwich,  Stamford,  St. 
Edmund's  Bury,and  many  other  places, 


140       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

I  would  only  notice  those  which  took 
place  at  Y«.  :k,  where,  having  "set  fire 
to  several  parts  cf  the  town,  (that  the 
citizens,  taken  up  in  extinguishing  it, 
might  give  them  no  interruption,)  they 
began  their  assault  upon  the  house  of 
one  Benedict,  wherein  were  his  wife  and 
children  with  several  ot-  er  relations,  and 
the  gre<  te*t  tart  of  their  merchandize; 
which  barbarous  action,  giving  an 
alarm  to  the  re^t  of  the  Jews,  who  dis- 
pcrsedly  inhabited  several  parts  of  the 
city,  (and  particularly  to  Jocenus,  a  man 
of  mighty  wealth,)  they  most  of  them, 
under  his  conduct,  addressed  themselves 
to  the  Governor  of  the  Castle,  and  pre- 
vailed with  him  to  give  them  shelter, 
both  for  their  persons  and  effects,  which 
he  had  no  sooner  done,  than  the  rioters, 
flying  to  the  house  of  Jocenus,  wreaked 
their  vengeance  upon  it  in  the  same 
manner  they  had  done  upon  that  of  his 
friend  Benedict,  and  seizing  upon  those 
unhappy  wretches,  who  were  not  so 
provident  as  to  get  into  the  castle  with 
their  fellows,  put  them  all  to  the  sword, 
Without  distinction  of  either  age  or  sex, 


a  Converted  Jew.  141 

except   such  as  complied   immediately 

with   their  offers  and   were  baptised." 

Nor  was  this  strong  castle  a  sure  and 

safe  refuge;  for  the  furious  mob,  having 

"continued  their  attack  so  successfully, 

that  the  Jews  believing-  thev  should  not 
•.J        j 

be  able  to  hold  out  much  longer,  called  a 
council  among  themselves,  to  consider 
what  was  best  to  be  done,  in  case  they 
were  driven  to  extremities. 

"When  they  were  assembled,  their 
senior  Rabbi  who  was  a  foreigner,  and 
who  had  been  sent  for  over  to  instruct 
them  in  the  law,  (on  account  of  his  great 
learning  and  experience,)  rose  up  and 
said,  'Men  of  Israel;  the  God  of  our  fa- 
thers,  to  whom  none  can  say,  What 
doest  thou?  commands  us,  at  this  time, 
to  die  for  his  Law;  and,  behold!  death 
is  even  before  our  eyes!  and  there  is 
nothing  left  us  to  consider  but  how  to 
undergo  it  in  the  most  reputable  and 
easy  manner.  If  we  fall  into  the  hands 
of  our  enemies,  which  I  think  there  is 
no  possibility  of  escaping,  our  deaths 
will  not  only  be  cruel,  but  ignominious; 
they  will  not  only  torment  us,  but  des- 
pitefully  use  us:  my  advice,  therefore,  is, 


142       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

that  we  voluntarily  surrender  those  lives 
to  our  Creator,  which  he  seems  to  call 
for,  and  not  to  wait  for  any  other  exe- 
cutioners than  ourselves  The  fact  is 
rational  and  lawful;  nor  do  we  want  ex- 
amples from  among  our  illustrious  an- 
cestors to  prove  it  so.  They  have  fre- 
quently proceeded  in  the  like  manner, 
upon  the  same  occasions.5* 

"Having  thus  spoken,  the  old  man  sat 
down  and  wept.  The  assembly  was  di- 
vided; some  affirming  that  he  had  spo- 
ken wisely,  others  that  it  was  a  hard 
saving;  to  which  the  Rabbi,  standing 
up  a  second  time,  replied; — 'Seeing, 
brethren,  that  we  are  not  all  of  one  mind, 
let  those  who  do  not  approve  of  my  ad- 
vice, depart  from  this  assembly.  They 
departed;  but  the  greater  number  con- 
tinued steadfastly  with  him;  and  as  soon 
as  they  perceived  themselves  alone,  their 
despair  increasing,  they  first  hurut  every 
thing  belonging  to  them,  that  was  con- 
sumable bv  fire,  and  buried  the  remain- 
der  in  the  earth  to  prevent  its  falling 
into  the  possession  of  their  enemies; 
then,  setting  fire  to  several  places  of  che 

*  See  the  accounts  in  Josephus't.   History   of  the  Jews, 
which  may  be  had  of  Samuel  T.  Armstrong,  hi 


a  Converted  Jew.  143 

castle  at  once,  each  man  took  a  sharp 
knife,  and  first  cut  the  throats  of  their 
wives  and  children,  then  their  own! 
The  persons  who  remained  last  alive 
were  this  rash  counsellor  and  the  afore- 
mentioned Jocenus,occasioned  by  nothing 
but  a  strong  desire  of  seeing  every  thing 
performed  according  to  their  directions; 
for  as  soon  as  that  was  over,  the  Rabbi, 
out  of  Tespect  to  Jocenus,  who  was  a 
person  of  distinction,  first  slew  him,  and 
then  himself."* 

"A.  D.  1210,  King  John  commanded 
all  the  Jews,  of  both  sexes,  throughout 
England,  to  be  imprisoned  till  they  would 
make  a  discovery  of  their  wealth;  which 
he  appointed  officers  to  receive  from 
every  county,  and  to  return  to  his  ex- 
chequer. Many  of  them,  no  doubt, 
pleaded  poverty,  and  pretended  to  have 
given  up  all:  but  as  the  tyrant  was  in  ear- 
nest to  hare  the  last  farthing,  he  extorted 
it  by  the  most  cruel  torments*  We  are 
told  that  the  generality  of  them  had  one 
eye  put  out,  and  from  one  particular  Jew, 
at  Bristol,  the  king  demanded  no  less 
than    ten    thousand  marks  of  silver,  (a 

*AngUa  JudaUa,  16.    Hume  vol.  ii,  14#. 


144       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frty, 

prodigious  sum  in  those  days,)  which 
being  resolutely  denied  him,  he  com- 
manded one  of  his  great  teeth  to  be 
pulled  out  every  day  rill  he  consented. 
The  poor  wretch,  whose  money  was  his 
life,  had  the  courage  to  hold  out  seven 
operations:  but  then  sinking  under  the 
violence  of  the  pain,  ransomed  the  re- 
mainder of  his  teeth  at  the  price  de- 
manded.— The  whole  sum  extorted 
from  them  at  this  time  amounted  to 
above  threescore  thousand  marks  of 
silver," 

Methinks  I  hear  some  one  say,  these 
atrocious  crimes  were  committed  in  the 
era  of  ignorance  and  bigotry;  but  now 
mankind  have  become  enlightened,  and 
men  are  no  longer  persecuted  for  their 
religious  opinions.  This  is  certainly 
true  with  respect  to  most  religious  de- 
nominations: and  there  is,  unquestiona- 
bly, a  spirit  of  moderation  existing  to- 
wards opposite  religious  tenets  which 
the  world  has  never  before  exhibited. 
Whether  this  moderation  how- 
ever, PROCEEDS  FROM  A  CONSCT* 
ENTIOUS  AND  LAUDABLE  LIBERAL- 
ITY, OR  FROM  A  CRIMINAL  LAXITY 
OF      PRINCIPLE;       AND      AN      APATHY 


a  Converted  Jew.  145 

AS      TO       ALL       RELIGIOUS       FEELING 
MAY      WELL      ADMIT      OF     A      SERIOUS 

doubt.  But  even  in  this  moderation, 
and  at  this  boasted  period  of  light,  the 
Jew  is  by  no  means  a  material  participa- 
tor, I  wish  I  had  not  daily  evidence  of 
this  melancholy  fact;  is  any  observation 
more  common,  amongst  merchants  and 
tradesmen  of  every  description,  than — * 
"Oh,  that  fellow  is  a  Jew:"  and  who  is 
there  amongst  Christians,  who  will  re- 
ceive a  Jew  or  a  Jewess  into  his  family, 
either  as  clerk,  apprentice,  or  servant? 
2dly.  Recollect  the  deplorable  condi- 
tion of  the  Jews,  as  before  stated,  ai^d 
listen  to  the  voice  of  pity  ancf  compas- 
sion. Before  I  saw  the  British  shore, 
the  fame  of  British  benevolence  had 
reached  my  ears,  and  gladdened  my 
heart:  but  since  my  arrival  in  this  coun- 
try, I  have  found  that  not  a  half  had 
been  told.  Every  where  I  have  seen 
asylums  for  the  poor,  the  sick,  the  in- 
firm, the  deaf,  and  the  dumb.  What 
can  be  the  reason  that  the  miseries  of 
the  poor  Jews  only  have  been  so  long 
overlooked,  and  that  no  man  cared  for 
their  souls.  The  late  zealous  exertions 
IS 


146       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

and  liberal  contributions  of  Christians  to 
promote  the  salvation  of  Israel,  fully 
prove,  however,  that  their  bowels  of 
compassion  yearned  over  the  Jews  as 
well  as  towards  others,  according  to  the 
degree  that  they  became  acquainted  with 
their  distress. 

3dly.  Gratitude  for  favors  received, 
claims  the  attention  of  every  Christian. 
It  is  pleasing  to  see  a  man  grateful  to- 
wards his  benefactor;  whilst  he  who  is 
guilty  of  ingratitude  is  pointed  at  as  the 
monster  of  all  monsters!  Our  gratitude 
should  rise  in  proportion  to  the  benefits 
received;  but  however  great  and  glori- 
ous are  the  blessings  of  the  Christian, 
which  of  them  has  he  not  received  from 
the  Jew*>?  Has  the  word  of  God  made 
him  wise  unto  salvation?  Has  the  truth 
sanctified  and  made  him  free  indeed? 
Ha*  he  derived  peace,  comfort,  consola- 
tion, and  support,  from  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures?  Let  him  remember  that  none  but 
Jews  wrote  either  the  Old  or  New  Tes- 
tament, that  to  them  were  committed  the 
o  acles  of  God,  that  they  preached  the 
Gospel  to  the  Gentiles,  and  that  of  them 
as  concerning  the  flesh,  was  born  Jesus 


a  Converted  Jew*  147 

the  son  of  David,  who  died  for  our  of- 
iences  and  rose  again  for  our  justifica- 
tion, and  who  is  now  at  the  right  hand 
of  G©d,  ever  living  to  make  interces- 
sion for  us!  Well  might  the  Redeemer 
say,  ''Salvation  is  of  the  Jews*" 

Supposing  that  a  certain  prince  who 
had  heard  one  of  his  enemies  was  con- 
demned to  die,  and  a  day  appointed  for 
his  execution;  in  order  to  convince  him 
of  his  love  and  good  will,  should  leave 
his  own  country,  kindred,  and  friends, 
hasten  to  the  sovereign  of  the  land,  and 
offer  to  pay  any  price  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  malefactor:  what,  if  upon 
finding  that  no  other  ransom  but  his 
own  blood  would  pacify  the  offended 
Monarch  (conferring  not  with  flesh  and 
blood,)  he  should  voluntarily  lay  down 
his  life  for  the  criminal,  and  even  at  his 
death,  as  an  additional  means  of  gaining 
the  affections  of  his  enemy,  should  be- 
queath him  a  rich  and  glorious  inheri- 
tance! If  the  wretch  who  had  thus  been 
rescued  from  ignominy  and  death,  and 
raided  to  riches  and  honor,  made  a  great 
profession  of  his  love,  affection  and  grat- 
itude, towards  his  generous  Prince  and 


143       The  Lije  of  Mr.  Frey, 

Deliverer,  we  should  say,  he  could  do 
no  less,  and  that  all  he  could  do  would 
be  little  enough.  But  if,  when  applied 
to  in  behalf  of  some  relations  of  his  de- 
ceased and  devoted  Benefactor,  who 
wt-re  perishing  for  want  of  bread,  he 
should  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  voice  of 
the  supplicants,  how  would  our  indig- 
nation be  excited  at  such  base  ingrati- 
tude. Should  we  not  be  constrained  to 
say,  that  the  former  professions  of  this 
ungrateful  character  were  merely  hypo- 
critical? and  would  not  the  individual 
who  could  so  act  be  universally  shun- 
ned as  a  monster  of  Ingratitude?  Read- 
er, listen  to  the  voice  of  conscience,  and 
ask  yourself,  Am  I  not  the  man?  If  a 
Christian  you  dare  not  deny,  in  the  sight 
of  God,  that  you  were  a  criminal  justly 
condemned;  that  your  condemnation 
would  have  been  eternal  if  the  Son  of 
God  had  not  veiled  himself  in  flesh, 
yielded  up  his  own  body  upon  the  tree, 
and  by  his  precious  blood  shedding,  of- 
fered an  acceptable  sacrifice  to  the  justly 
offended  Majesty  of  Heaven. 

How  often  have  you    united  in  the 
declaration  of  the  Poet. 


a  Converted  Jew.  149 

•'Were  the  whole  realm  of  nature  mine, 

That  were  a  present  far  too  small; 
Love  so  amazing,  so  divine, 

Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all." 

and  how  has  your  conduct  corresponded 
with  this  solemn  exclamation?  Have 
you  ever  seriously  reflected  upon  its 
power  and  effect?  What  have  you  done 
for  the  kinsmen  and  relative*  of  that 
Prince  and  Savior,  who,  whilst  you  are 
living  in  open  rebellion  against  him* 
shed  his  precious  blood  for  tjou,  and  cal- 
led you  by  his  grace.  Perhaps,  notwith- 
standing all  these  inestimable  benefits, 
you  have  hitherto  turned  a  deaf  ear  to 
ail  applications  on  their  behalf,  und  have 
not  as  yet  afforded  them  that  bread  of 
life  without  which  they  must  perish  for 
ever.  But,  perhaps,  I  wrong  you — it 
may  be,  that  you  have  yielded  to  the  im- 
portunate solicitations  ot  some  friend, 
and  reluctantly  given  you  annual  Sub- 
scription or  trifling  Donation,  more  to 
s»ve  appearances  or  lay  your  friend  un- 
der an  obligation,  than  from  any  genuine 
love  to  the  Savior.  Is  this  the  gratitude 
you  owe  to  him  that  died  and  gave  him- 
self for  you?  Art  these  the  emotions 
which  ought  to  animate  your  bosom  to- 
*13 


150       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

wa^ds  the  seed  of  Abraham,  and  to 
whom  you  are  under  so  many  obliga- 
tions— and  against  whom  you  have  eith- 
er in  your  own  persons  or  by  \rour  an- 
cestors, committed  so  many  injuries? 
Is  this  the  sort  of  conduct  by  which  you 
are  actuated  when  you  have  a  party  of 
pleasure  in  prospect — in  the  purchase  of 
a  house,  a  carriage,  a  horse,  or  an  arti- 
cle of  superfluous  dress?  Of  how  little  , 
value  are  a  few  dollars  then  in  the  sight 
of  him  whose  heart  is  fixed  upon  obtain- 
ing possession  of  a  given  object!  And 
if  anv  worldlv  advantage  is  in  view — anv 
chance  of  obtaining  a  little  more  than 
common  interest  for  money,  by  effect- 
ing a  purchase,  what  exertions  will  be 
made,  what  sacrifices  submitted  to  for 
accomplishing  his  purpose.  How  differ- 
ent the  feelings,  even  among  profes- 
sors, when  called  upon  for  a  charitable 
purpose.  If  any  extraordinary  exertion 
of  this  sort  is  solicited,  how  many  objec- 
tions are  started — how  many  difficulties 
raised — how  many  excuses  stated  (per- 
haps invented)  to  keep  the  sordid  dust 
in  the  pocket.  What  a  wonderful  effect 
will  the  Day  of  Judgment  have  in  en- 
lightening the  understanding  and  remove 


a  Converted  Jew.  151 

ing  the  inverted  glasses,  through  which 
mankind  in  general,  and  even  Christians 
Gt  present  behold,  and  estimate  the  value 
of  immortal  souls. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  notice,  fourth- 
ly, the  happy  effects  that  will  result  from 
t\\Q  conversion  of  the  Jews,  as  another 
motive  to  stimulate  Christians  to  zeal- 
ous exertions.  It  is  natural  for  every 
man  to  wish  well  to  his  country.  The 
most  likely  means  of  preventing  calami- 
ties  and  heavy  judgments,  is  to  purge 
the  land  from  its  abounding  sins,  for  sin 
is  not  only  the  reproach  of  any  people 
but  has  ever  been  the  cause  of  the  de- 
struction of  nations,  kingdoms,  and  em- 
pires; and  are  not  the  sins  of  the  Jews^ 
especially  their  sin  of  unbelief,  blas- 
phemy, and  rejection  of  the  Son  of  Godt 
a  heavy  burden  in  the  weight  of  the 
sins  of  this  land,  sufficient  to  sink  it 
like  lead  into  the  mighty  deep?  What  a 
happy  effect  therefore  will  their  conver- 
sion have,  when  they  will  not  only  cease 
'  from  doing^vil,  but  like  Lot  for  Zoar, 
pray  for  tB^reservation  and  welfare  of 
our  country. 

To  the  true  Christian  nothing  is  more 
dear  than  the  prosperity   of   Zion!  his 


152       The  Life  of  Mr.  Froy, 

wishes  and  prayers  are  like  those  of  the 
Ro\al  Psalmist,  "Pe;ce  be  within  thy 
walls,  and  prosperity  within  thy  palaces; 
if  "I  forget  thee,  0!  Jerusalem^  let  my 
right  hand  forget  her  cunning;  if  I  do 
not  remember  thee,  let  my  tongue  cleave 
to  the  roof  of  n>y  mouth,  if  I  prefer  not 
Jkrusak  m  above  my  chitf  joy." 

That  the  conversion  of  the  Jews  will 
greatly  lengthen  the  cords  of  Zion,  and 
strengthen  her  stakes,  is  evident  from 
s-  cred  Scripture,  and  fnm  reason.  Many 
aiethepromises  in  the  Old  Testament  on 
this  subject,  and  nothing  can  be  more 
plain  and  convincing  than  the  reason  of 
the  apostle  Paul  in  his  epistle  to  the 
Romans  xi,  15;  'For  if  the  casting  away 
of  them  be  the  reconciling  of  the  world, 
what  smvH  the  receiving  of  them  be  but 
life  from  the  dead."  What  can  be  more 
reasonable  tl.vh  to  expect  that  their  con- 
version will  be  a  wonderful  means  of 
•  xteoding  the  Gospel  throughout  the 
earth;  it  is  well  known  that  many  infi- 
dels have  been  convinced  of  the  truths 
of  divine  revelation  by  the  remarkable 
fulfilment  of  the  awful  threatening^,  mix- 
ed notwithstanding  with  gracious  prom- 
ises, in  the  dispersion  and  preservation 


a  Converted  Jew.  153 

of  the  Jews.  And  what  an  additional 
evidence  will  be  derived  from  their  being 
gathered  again,  according  to  ancient 
predictions,  and  brought  to  acknowledge 
Jesus  as  their  God  and  Savior* 

Besides,  may  we  not  reasonably  sup- 
pose, that  whilst  Jewish  missionaries 
are  declaring  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ,  designedly  to  their  brethren  and 
kinsmen  after  the  flesh,  scattered  among 
all  nations  under  heaven;  thousands  arid 
millions  of  the  Gentiles  will  hear,  trem- 
ble, and  turn  unto  the  Lord?  Could  ff 
with  propriety,  mention  the  number  of 
those  who  first  came  out  of  curiosity  to 
hear  a  Jew  preach  the  Gospel  in  the  me- 
tropolis, and  in  different  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  and  to  whom  my  ministry  has 
been  blessed,  it  would  be  a  striking 
illustration  of  the  opinion  just  advanced. 
Sufficient  instances  have  come  to  my 
knowledge  to  enable  me  to  say,  with  hu- 
mility and  gratitude,  that  I  have  not  la- 
boured in  vain,  nor  spent  my  strength 
for  nought. 

Another  most  desirable  effect  of  the 
conversion  of  the  Jews  will  be  the  ad- 
vancement   of    the    Redeemer's   glory. 


134       The  Lift  of  Mr.  Freij, 

Rivers  of  tears  ran  down  the  eyes  o| 
king  David,  in  the  height  of  his  pros- 
perity, because  men  did  not  keep  the 
commandments  of  God;  and  can  the 
Christian  behold  the  Son  of  God  cruci- 
fied ctfresh  in  the  house  of  his  friends? — 
his  name  blasphemed  daily,  and  his  blood 
trampled  under  their  feet,  and  counted 
an  unholy  thing,  without  feeling  his 
heart  affected?  When  the  Jews  are  once 
ltd  to  lonk  unto  him  whom  they  have 
pierced,  perhaps  few  will  excel  them  in 
zculous  endeavours  to  promote  the  hon- 
our and  glory  of  Him,  whom  ignorant- 
ly  they  have  so  long  despised  and  re- 
jected. Li  t  us  look  upon  the  conver- 
sion of  the  apostle  Paul,  as  a  pattern  or 
type  of  them*  that  should  believe  here- 
al\er. 

The  ne^xt  motive,  in  the  fifth  place,  is 
the  success,  which  may  be  expected. 
The  conversion  of  the  Jews  is  an  object 
not  only  mos?  desirable,  as  it  will  promote 
their*  highest  happiness,  be  a  blessing  to 
the  country,  txtend  tin  Gospel  to  all  na- 
tk>;  s,  and  greatly  advance  the  glory  of 
tht  R  dccmer,  but  its  accomplishment  is 
possible.     How  often  has  it  been  said  by 


a  Converted  Jew.  15S 

some,  It  is  in  vain  to  attempt  the  cm- 
version  of  the  Jews:  others  have  been 
publicly  declaring,   that   there  had   not 
been  a  converted  Jew  since  the  days  of 
the  apostles.     Such  assertions  might  be 
contradicted  by  the  accounts  long  since 
printed,   of  several  hundred   converti  d 
Jews,  while  the  absurdity  of  the  former 
sentiments  might  be  as  completely  ex- 
posed.    Granted,  indeed,  that  there  are 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  their  conver- 
sion;   and  let  it  be  admitted,  more  so 
than  in  the  conversion  of  any  other  peo- 
ple; nevertheless,   that  which  is  impos- 
sible   with   man  is  possible   with  God. 
Who  can  limit  the  Holy  One  of  Israel? 
Is  the  blood  of  Jesus,   the  Son  of  God, 
which  cleanses  from  all  sins,  not  able  to 
cleanse  the  sins  of  the  Jews?    Are  his 
merits  not  sufficient  to  reconcile  them 
10  God,  as  well  as  the  idolatrous  Gen- 
tiles?   Is  the  Spirit  of  God  not  able  to 
remove  the  veil  of  Mpses  from    their 
hearts? — to   slay    the   enmity   of    their 
mind,  and  to  sanctify  their  unholy  na- 
tures? Would  it  not  be  most  unreasona- 
ble, and  blasphemous  in  the  highest  de- 
gree, to  expect  that  God,  who,  contrary 


156         The  Life  of  Mr.  Freij, 

to  nature,  grafted  into  the  good  olive- 
tree,  branches  that  wtre  wild  by  nature, 
is  not  able  to  graft  again,  into  their  own 
olive-tree,  those  which  are  the  natural 
branches?  Let  it  be  remembered,  that 
the  act  of  converting  a  sinner,  whether 
Ji  w  or  Gc -utile,  is  the  sole  prerogative  of 
Gud,  and  that  it  is  a  work  equally  easy  for 
him  to  effect  in  either. 

The  first  and  grand  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  conversion,  whether  of  Jews  or 
Gentiles,  is  the  difficulty  of  bringing 
sinners  under  the  means  of  grace:  for, 
"How  then  shall  they  call  on  him  in 
whom  they  have  not  believed?  and  how- 
shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they 
have  not  heard;  and  how  shall  they  hear 
Without  a  preacher?"  But  there  are 
greater  obstacles,  as  stated  before,  in 
the  way  of  a  Jew  than  of  all  others.  It 
is,  however,  both  the  duty  and  privilege 
of  every  Christian  to  use  the  means  in 
his  power  for  removing  these  difficulties 
out  o\  die  way;  nor  will  it  be  improper 
to  add,  that  the  conversion  of  Jews, 
if  they  could  be  induced  to  attend  di- 
vine worship,  would  be  more  probable, 
than   of   those   who   are   totally   unac- 


a  ConvertcdJew.  157 

quainted  with  the  worship  of  the  true 
God,  or  any  portion  of  his  revealed  will. 
If  it  he  inquired,  What  advantage  has 
the  Jewish  missionary?  It  may  be  re- 
plied, Much  every  way:  to  whatever 
country  he  goes,  he  need  not  spud 
years  (as  others  necessarily  must  do)  in 
learning  a  language,  but  may  begin  im- 
mediately to  address  his  brethren  in  the 
Hebrew  language,  which  he,  in  common 
with  many  of  his  brethren  in  every  part 
of  the  world,  perfectly  understands.  The 
Old  Testament  being  acknowledged  also 
by  his  hearers  as  a  divine  revelation,  he 
has  an  inexhaustible  fund,  from  whence 
he  may  illustrate,  confirm,  and  apply  the 
principles  of  religion  which  they  already 
profess  to  believe;  and  may  prove,  from 
the  same  Scriptures,  that  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth is  the  Messiah.  Add  to  this,  his 
knowledge  of  their  sentiments,  ceremo- 
nies, customs  and  prejudices,  together 
with  their  peculiar  objections  against  the 
Christian  religion,  which  gives  him  a 
great  advantage  in  private  disputation, 
and  in  public  discourses.  Besides  what 
lias  been  advanced,  let  our  eyes  be  eon- 

ixed  unon  the  sacred  Scripture^ 

U 


158       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

and  we  shall  find  assurance  that  ultimate 
ess  must  attend  the  exertions  of 
Christians  in  behalf  of  the  conversion 
of  the  Jews.  The  same  God  who  has 
scattered  the  children  of  Israel,  has,  at 
Stindry  times,  and  in  divers  places,  gra- 
ciously promised  that  the  conversion  of 
the  Jews  shall  take  place;  and  "he  is  not 
8  man  that  he  should  lie,  nor  the  son  of 
man  that  he  should  repent." 

The  sixth  and  last  motive  I  shall  use 
to  excite  Christian  exertions  in  behalf 
of  the  Jews,  is  the  pleasing  and  encour- 
aging signs  of  the  times,  I  shall  only 
mention  the  success  which  has  attended 
the  London  Society,  the  number  of 
whose  friends,  although  exceedingly 
small  in  the  beginning,  has  now  so 
greatly  increased,  that  with  propriety  it 
may  be  said,  "The  little  one  has  become 
a  thousand,  and  the  small  one  a  strong 
people,75  notwithstanding  the  various 
and  repeated  opposition  to  the  efforts  of 
the  Society.  A  greater  number  of  Jews 
have  attended  at  their  place  of  worship 
than  could  have  been  expected;  nor 
have  they  met  with  such  disappoint. 
fpents  from  these  who  made  a  profes-. 


a  Converted  Jew.  159 

sion  of  the  Christian  religion,  as  might 
naturally  have  been  anticipated.  Several 
of  the  Jews  who  have  thus  professed 
themselves  the  disciples  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  are  an  ornament  to  their  profes- 
sion, and  a  great  encouragement  to  the 
Society.  But  the  most  pleasing  circum- 
stance is,  the  prosperity  of  the  Schools. 
In  what  period  of  the  Church,  during 
the  last  1700  years,  have  we  heard  of 
108  Jewish  children,  voluntarily  pre- 
sented by  their  parents  or  friends,  to  be 
instructed  in  the  principles  of  Christian- 
ity! Surely,  God  has  selected  Britain, 
like  Jerusalem  of  old,  to  be  in  this  re- 
spect the  praise  of  the  whole  earth. 
From  among  these  children,  it  is  hoped, 
God  will  raise  up  Missionaries,  qualify 
and  send  them  forth  to  seek  the  lost 
sheep  of  the  House  of  Israel,  and  bring 
them  to  the  great  Shepherd  and  Bishop 
of  souls. 

Much  more  might  be  said  respecting 
the  success  of  the  Society,  but  for  the 
reasons  assigned  above;  and  therefore  I 
hasten  to  the  conclusion  of  this  address 
by  pointing  out  a  few  instances 


160       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

IV.  How  Christians  may  lend  their 
aid  in  promoting  Christianity  amongst 
the  Jews. 

1.  Men  of  literary  talents  and  piety  r 
might  greatly  assist  by  composing  suit- 
able tracts,  which  the  Society,  if  ap- 
proved of  by  their  Literary  Committee, 
would  gladly  print,  and  circulate  amongst 
the  Jews.  Some  of  the  best  controver- 
sies between  Jews  and  Christians  are  in 
Latin,  and,  comparatively,  of  little  use 
on  that  account.  Should  any  of  those 
who  possess  leisure  as  well  as  talents, 
present  the  Society  with  the  translation 
of  such  books,  it  might  be  a  great 
assistance  in  the  furtherance  of  their  ob- 
ject. I  would  further  observe,  that  it  is 
not  at  all  unlikely,  that  several  books 
which  are  much  needed  in  the  Society's 
Library,  and  for  which  they  have  fre- 
quently advertised,  may  be  in  the  pos- 
session  of  some  persons  who  could  spare 
them  without  much  inconvenience; 
whilst,  in  the  hands  of  the  Society,  they 
might  be  an  incalculable  public  treasure. 

A  second  way  of  aiding  the  Society, 
is  by  liberal  contributions.  It  is  need- 
less to  say  that  the  London  Society  for 


a  Converted  Jew.  161 

promoting  Christianity  amongst  the  Jews 
requires  large  funds  at  present:  I  say  at 
present,  for  perhaps  the  greatest  part  of 
its  present  expenses  will  never  occur 
again.  In  a  few  years,  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  its  annual  subscriptions  will  be  suf- 
ficient to  defray  its  annual  expenses. 
Who  can  tell,  whether  in  raising  up  the 
tabernacle  of  David,  which  is  fallen,  it 
may  not  be,  as  in  former  times,  when 
the  tabernacle  of  Moses  was  erected, 
that  many  were  disappointed  in  having 
their  gifts  refused,  being  no  more  need- 
ed. Let,  therefore,  every  Christian 
bring  his  free-will  offering,  whether 
great  or  small,  whilst  it  is  to-day,  for 
tomorrow  it  may  be  too  late.  What 
pleasure  and  satisfaction  would  it  afford 
me,  should  I  live  to  see  an  asylum  for 
the  children.  The  reader,  doubtless, 
will  be  glad  to  hear  that  a  suitable  piece 
of  ground  has  already  been  procured, 
and  that  a  Building  Fund  has  been 
opened  to  receive  subscriptions  and  do- 
nations, for  the  erection  of  such  an 
Asylum.  It  is  encouraging  to  see 
Christians  more  mindful  of  the  Jews 
in  our  day  than  for  ages  past:    and,  I 

n* 


162       The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

trust,  we  shall  soon  have  the  additional 
pleasure  of  finding  some  remembering 
them  for  good,  even  in  their  last  wills. 

I  cannot  conscientiously  conclude  this 
^ddress  without  earnestly  entreating  the 
ministers  of  Christ  to  recommend  and 
encourage  the  establishment  of  Penny- 
Societies  in  their  respective  congrega- 
tions, not  only  as  it  brings  the  subject 
constantly  to  their  consideration,  but  as 
effectual  contributions  have  been  by 
such  means  obtained,  and  the  poorest 
have  an  opportunity  of  testifying  their 
good  will  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house 
of  Israel. 

The  following  anecdote  will  show 
what  may  be  done  by  this  means. — 
Some  time  ago,  a  poor  woman  at  R — , 
after  hearing  a  discourse  on  the  present 
deplorable  state  of  the  Jews,  resolved  to 
do  all  in  her  power,  which  was  to  lay 
aside  a  penny  every  first  day  of  the 
week.  Having  told  this  to  some  other 
poor  persons  and  servants,  not  for  the 
sake  of  being  seen  and  praised,  but  to 
be  imitated,  she  soon  obtained  a  num- 
ber of  subscribers  more  than  her  mem- 
rory  would  retain;  and  not  being  able  to 


a  Converted  Jew.  16S 

wrke,  she  solicited  a  lady  to  do  it  for 
her,  who  kindly  offered  to  be  the  secre- 
tary, and  another  lady  accepted  the  of- 
fice of  treasurer.  The  poor  woman, 
having  obtained  a  little  book  containing 
the  names  of  the  subscribers  and  bear- 
ing the  title  of  "R —  Penny  Society,  in 
aid  of  the  London  Society  for  promoting 
Christianity  amongst  the  Jews,"  she  went 
from  house  to  house,  presenting  her  book; 
and  in  less  than  five  days  she  procured 
upwards  of  two  hundred  subscribers!— 
The  Society  has  since  received,  through 
the  exertions  and  perseverance  of  this 
woman,  more  than  three  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars;  this  Penny  Society  has  be- 
come the  mother  of  many  children.* 
Christian  reader,  "go  and  do  likewise.'5 
S.  Finally,  brethren,  pray  without 
ceasing,  and  you  will  greatly  aid  in  pro- 
moting the  salvation  of  the  Jews.  If  the 
great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  who  was 
blessed  with  an  uncommon  share  of  na- 
tural talents,  enjoyed  all  possible  advan- 
tages in  education,  abounded  in  all  the 
graces  of  the  Spirit,  and  possessed  even 

*  Penny  Societies  have  been  formed  in  eighty  cities  an4 
*7V/ns  hi  tiL-eat Britain,  for  promoting. this  object, 


164        The  Life  of  Mr.  Frey, 

the  power  of  performing  miracles, 
thought  it  needful  to  solicit  the  prayers 
of  the  churches,  that  the  word  of  the 
Lord  might  run  and  have  free  course, 
surely  we  cannot  expect  to  succeed  in 
the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  without  the 
united,  fervent,  and  persevering  prayers 
of  Christians  of  all  denominations.  And 
if  it  be  our  duty  to  pray  for  all  men, 
doubtless  the  children  of  Israel  have  the 
strongest  claims  for  the  greatest  portion 
of  the  prayers  of  the  saints.  The  most 
fervent  petitions  and  supplications  for 
the  salvation  of  the  Gentiles  have  been 
composed  by  kings  and  prophets,  and 
the  wise  men  of  the  house  of  Israel;  and 
by  their  posterity  these  petitions  have 
been  presented  at  a  throne  of  grace,  from 
age  to  age,  even  unto  the  present  daj\ 
Who  can  tell,  whether  the  conversion  of 
some  individuals  now  living,  is  not  in 
answer  to  the  prayers  of  David.  Solo- 
mon, Isaiah,  and  others?  For  though 
the  voice  of  prayer  flies  swiftly  unto  the 
throne  of  grace5  yet  the  answers  to  our 
petitions  are  sometimes  delayed,  and 
that  for  centuries  to  come. — Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  desired  and  prayed  to 


a  Converted  Jew.  136 

obtain  the  promises,  but  obtained  them 
not,  for  God  had  reserved  them  for  us. 
Let,  therefore,  ministers  in  their  public 
prayers,  and  Christians  in  their  closets, 
and  at  their  family  altar,  be  mindful  of 
the  poor  Jews,  who  have  not  yet  receiv- 
ed the  spirit  of  prayer  and  supplication. 
It  should  ever  be  remembered,  that  nei- 
ther our  persons  nor  services  will  be  ac- 
cepted, nor  our  prayers  answered,  but 
through  the  merits  and  intercession  of 
Him,  who  is  the  Seed  of  Abraham,  and 
in  whom  the  nations  of  the  earth  were  to 
be  blessed.  Whilst  thus  sensible  of  our 
immense  obligations  to,  and  constant 
dependence  on  Him,  who  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  for  us,  let  us  never 
forget  to  pray  for  his  brethren  and  kins- 
men after  the  flesh. 


FATT.  „  ^T. ^  NARRATIy]F. 


APPENDIX, 


CONTAINING 

A  CONCTSE  VIEW  OF  THE  FORMER  STATE 
AND  PRESENT  SITUATION  OF  THE  JEWS; 
WITH  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  SEVERAL  PER- 
SONS   PRETENDING  TO   BE   THE    MESSIAH, 

JEWS,  a  name  derived  from  the  patri- 
arch Judea,  and  given  to  the  descendants 
of  Abraham  by  his  eldest  son  Isaac.  We 
shall  here  present  the  reader  with  as 
comprehensive  a  view  of  this  singular 
people  as  we  can. 

1.    HISTORY  OF  THE  JEWS. 

The  Almighty  promised  Abraham 
that  he  would  render  his  seed  extremely 
numerous:  this  promise  began  to  be 
fulfilled  in  Jacob's  twelve  sons.  In 
about  two  hundred  and  fifteen  years 
they  increased  in  Egypt  from  seventeen, 
to  between  two  and  three  millions,  men, 
women,  and  children.  While  Joseph 
lived  they  were  kindly  used  by  the 
Egyptian  monarchs;  but  soon  after, 
from  a  suspicion  that  they  would  be- 
come too  strong  for  the  natives,  they 
were   condemned  to   slavery;   but  the 


History  of  the  Jews.        187 

more  they  were  oppressed,  the  more 
they  grew.  The  mid  wives,  and  others, 
were  therefore  ordered  to  murder  every 
male  infant  at  the  time  of  its  birth;  but 
they,  shifting  the  horrible  task,  every 
body  was  then  ordered  to  destroy  the 
male  children  wherever  they  found 
them.  After  they  had  been  thus  op- 
pressed for  about  one  hundred  years, 
and  on  the  very  day  that  finished  the 
four  hundred  and  thirtieth  year  from 
God's  first  promise  of  a  seed  to  Abra- 
ham, and  about  four  hundred  years,  af- 
ter the  birth  of  Isaac,  God,  by  terrible 
plagues  on  the  Egyptians,  obliged  them 
to  liberate  the  Hebrews  under  the  di- 
rection of  Moses  and  Aaron.  Pharoah 
pursued  them  with  a  mighty  army,  but 
the  Lord  opened  a  passage  for  them 
through  the  Red  Sea;  and  the  Egyptians, 
in  attempting  to  follow  them,  were 
drowned.  After  this  we  find  them  in  a 
dry  and  barren  desert,  without  any  provis- 
ion for  their  journey;  but  God  supplied 
them  with  water  from  a  rock,  and  man- 
na and  quails  from  heaven.  A  little 
after,  they  routed  the  Amalekites,  who 
fell  pn  their  real.      In  the  wilderness 


168        History  of  the  Jews. 

God  delivered  them  the  law,  and  con- 
firmed the  authority  of  Moses.  Three 
thousand  of  them  were  cut  off  for  wor- 
shipping the  golden  calf;  and  for  loath- 
ing the  manna,  they  were  punished  with 
a  month's  eating  of  flesh,  till  a  plague 
brake  out  among  them;  and  for  their 
rash  belief  of  ten  wicked  spies,  and  their 
contempt  of  the  promised  land,  God 
had  entirely  destroyed  them,  had  not 
Moses's  prayers  prevented.  They  were 
condemned,  however,  to  wnnder  in  the 
desert  till  the  end  of  forty  years,  till  that 
whole  generation,  except  Caleb  and 
Joshua,  should  be  cut  off  by  death. 
Here  they  were  often  punished  for  their 
rebellion,  idolatry,  whoredom,  &cc. 
God's  marvellous  favors,  however,  were 
still  continued  in  conducting  and  sup- 
plying  them  with  meat;  and  the  streams 
issuing  from  the  rock  of  Meribah,  fol- 
lowed their  camp  about  thirty-nine 
years,  and  their  clothes  never  waxed 
old.  On  their  entrance  into  Canaan, 
God  ordered  them  to  cut  off  every  idol- 
atrous Canaanite;  but  they  spared  vast 
numbers  of  them,  who  enticed  them  to 
wickedness,  and  were  sometimes  God'i 


History  of  ike  Jews.        169 

rod  to  punish  them.  For  many  ages 
they  had  enjoyed  little  prosperity,  and 
often  relapsed  into  awful  idolatry,  wor- 
shipping Baalim,  Ashtaroth.  Micah 
and  the  Danites  introduced  it  not  long 
after  Joshua's  death.  About  this  time 
the  lewdness  of  the  men  of  Gibcah  oc- 
casioned a  war  of  the  eleven  tribes 
against  their  brethren  of  Benjamin:  they 
were  twice  routed  by  the  Benjamites* 
and  forty  thousand  of  them  were  slain. 
In  the  third,  however,  all  the  Benjamites 
were  slain,  except  six  hundred.  Vexed 
for  the  loss  of  a  tribe,  the  other  Hebrews 
provided  wives  for  these  six  hundred, 
at  the  expense  of  slaying  most  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Jabesh  Gilead.  Their  re- 
Iap?e  into  idolatry  also  brought  on  them 
repeated  turns  of  slavery  from  the  heath- 
en among  or  around  them.  See  books 
of  Judges  and  Samuel.  Having?  been 
governed  by  Judges  for  about  three 
hundred  and  forty  years,  after  the  death 
of  Joshua,  they  took  a  fancy  to  have  a 
king.  Saul  was  their  first  sovereign, 
under  whose  reign  they  had  perpetual 
.struggles  with  the  Amomtes,  Moabitcs, 
mrd  Philistines*  After  about  seven 
*5 


170         History  of  the  J&ask 

years'  struggling  between  the  elevetj 
tribes  that  clave  to  Ishbosheth,  the  son 
of  Saul,  and  the  tribe  of  Judah,  which 
erected  themselves  into  a  kingdom  un- 
der David,  David  became  sole  monarch. 
Under  him   thev  subdued  their  neisrh- 

ml  O 

bors,  the  Philistines,  Edomites,  and 
others;  and  took  possession  of  the  whole 
dominion  which  had  been  promised 
them,  from  the  border  of  Egypt  to  the 
banks  of  the  Euphrates.  Under  Solo- 
mon they  had  little  war;  when  he  died, 
ten  of  the  Hebrew  tribes  formed  a  king- 
dom of  Israel,  or  Ephraim  for  them- 
selves, under  Jeroboam,  the  son  of 
Nebat,  in  opposition  to  the  kingdom  of 
Judah  and  Benjamin,  ruled  by  the  fam- 
ily of  David.  The  kingdom  of  Israel, 
Ephraim,  or  the  ten  tribes,  had  never 
so  much  as  one  pious  king:  idolatry 
was  always  their  established  religion* 
The  kingdom  of  Judah  had  pious  and 
wicked  sovereigns  by  turns,  though 
they  often  relapsed  into  idolatry,  which 
brought  great  distress  upon  them.  See 
books  of  Samuel,  Kings,  and  Chronicles. 
Not  only  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  but  that 
of  Judah  was  brought  to  the  very  b 


History  of  the  Jews.         171 

of  ruin  after  the  death  of  Jehosaphat. 
After  various  changes,  sometimes  for 
the  better,  and  sometimes  for  the  worse, 
the  kingdom  of  Israel  was  ruined,  two 
hundred  and  fifty-four  years  after  its 
erection,  by  So,  king  of  Egypt,  and 
Halmanaser  king  of  Assyria,  who  invad- 
ed it,  and  destroyed  most  of  the  people. 
Judah  was  invaded  by  Sennacherib;  but 
Hezekiah's  piety,  and  Isaiah's  prayer, 
were  the  means  of  their  preservation; 
but  under  Mannasseh,  the  Jews  aban- 
doned themselves  to  horrid  impiety: 
for  which  they  were  punished  by  Esar- 
haddon,  king  of  Assyria,  who  invaded 
and  reduced  the  kingdom,  and  carried 
Mannasseh  prisoner  to  Babylon.  Man- 
nasseh repented,  and  the  Lord  brought 
him  back  to  his  kingdom,  where  he  pro- 
moted the  reformation;  but  his  son 
Ammon  defaced  all.  Joshua  however 
again  promoted  it,  and  carried  it  to  a 
higher  pitch  than  in  the  reigns  of  David 
and  Solomon  After  Joshua  was  slain 
by  Pharaoh  Necho,  king  of  Egypt,  the 
people  returned  to  idolatry,  and  God 
gave  them  up  to  servitude  to  the  Egyp- 
tians and  the  Chaldeans.     The  fate  of 


172        History  of  the  Jews, 

their  kings  Jehoaz,  Jehoiakim,  Jehoia* 
chin,  and  Zedekiah,  was  unhappy* 
Provoked  by  Zedekiah's  treachery, 
Nebuchadnezzar  invaded  the  kingdom, 
murdered  vast  numbers  and  reduced 
them  to  captivity.  Thus  the  kingdom 
of  Judah  was  ruined,  A.  M.  3416,  about 
three  hundred  and  eighty-eight  years 
after  its  division  from  that  of  the  tea 
tribes.  In  the  seventieth  year  from  the 
begun  captivity,  the  Jews,  according  to 
the  edict  of  Cyrus,  king  of  Persia,  who 
had  overturned  the  empire  of  Chaldea, 
returned  to  their  own  country.  See 
Nehemiah,  Ezra.  Vast  numbers  of 
them,  who  had  agreeable  settlements, 
remained  in  Babylon.  After  their  re- 
turn they  rebuilt  the  temple  and  city 
of  Jerusalem,  put  away  their  strange 
wives,  and  renewed  their  covenant  with 
God. 

About  3490,  or  3546,  they  escaped 
the  ruin  designed  them  by  Haman. 
About  3653,  Darius  Ochus,  king  of 
Persia,  ravaged  part  of  Judea,  and  car- 
ried off  a  great  many  prisoners.  When 
Alexander  was  in  Canaan,  about  3670, 
he  confirmed  to  them  all  their  privileges; 


History  of  the  Jews.        173 

<md,  having  built  Alexandria,  he  settled 
vast  numbers  of  them  there.  About 
fourteen  years  after,  Ptolemy  Lagus,  the 
Greek  king  of  Egypt,  ravaged  Judea, 
and  carried  one  hundred  thousand  pris- 
oners to  Egppt,  but  used  them  kindly, 
and  assigned  them  many  places  of  trust. 
About  eight  years  after,  he  transported 
another  multitude  of  Jews  to  Egypt, 
and  gave  them  considerable  privileges. 
About  the  same  time,  Seleucus  Nicator 
having  built  about  thirty  new  cities  in 
Asia,  settled  in  them  as  many  Jews  as 
he  could;  and  Ptolemy  Philadelphus, 
of  Egypt,  about  3720,  bought  the  free- 
dom of  all  the  Jew  slaves  in  Egypt 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  about  3834,  en- 
raged with  them  for  rejoicing  at  the  re- 
port of  his  death,  and  for  the  peculiar 
form  of  their  worship,  in  his  return  from 
Egypt,  forced  his  way  into  Jerusalem, 
and  murdered  forty  thousand  of  them; 
and  about  two  years  after  he  ordered  his 
troops  to  pillage  the  cities  of  Judea,  and 
murder  the  men,  and  sell  women  and 
children  for  slaves.  Multitudes  were 
killed,  and  ten  thousand  prisoners  carri- 
ed oil]    the   temple   was  dedieatef 


174        History  of  the  Jews. 

Olympius,  an  idol  of  Greece,  and  the" 
Jews  exposed  to  the  basest  treatment, 
Mattathias,   the  priest,  with  his   sons, 
chiefly  Judas,  Jonathan  and  Simon,  who 
were  called  Maccabees,  bravely  fought 
for  their  religion  and  liberties.     Judas, 
who  succeeded  his  father  about  3840, 
gave  Nicanor  and  the  king's  troops  a  ter- 
rible  defeat,  regained  the  temple,  and 
dedicated    it   anew,  restored   the  daily 
worship  and  repaired  Jerusalem,  which 
was  almost  in  a  ruinous  heap.     After 
his   death,    Jonathan    and   Simon,    his 
brethren,   successively  succeeded  him;, 
and  both  wisely  and  bravely  prornc 
the    welfare   of  the  church  and   state. 
Simon  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Hir- 
mantis,  who  subdued  Idumea,  and  re- 
duced   the    Samaritans.      In    3899   he 
was  succeeded  by  his  son  Janneus,  \ 
reduced  the  Philistines,  the  count:  -. 
Moab,   Ammon,   Giiead,   and  part 
Arabia.    Under  these  three  reigns  alone 
the  Jewish  nation  was  independent  ai 
the  captivity.     After  the  death  cf 
widow  of  Janneus.  who  governed  n 
years,    the    nation    was    aimost  rui 
with  civil  broils.     In  3939,  fi    i 


History  of  the  Jews.         17# 

invited  the  Romans  to  assist  him  against 
Hircanus,  his  elder  brother.  The 
country  was  quickly  reduced,  and  Jeru- 
salem took  by  force;  and  Pompey,  and 
a  number  of  his  officers,  pushed  their 
way  into  the  Sanctuary,  if  not  into  the 
Holy  of  Holies,  to  view  the  furniture 
thereof.  Nine  years  after,  Crasstis  the 
Roman  general,  pillaged  the  temple  of 
its  valuables.  After  Judca  had  for  more 
than  thirty  years  been  a  scene  of  ravage 
and  blood,  and  twenty. four  of  which, 
had  been  oppressed  by  Herod  the 
Great,  Herod  got  himself  installed  in 
the  kingdom.  About  twenty  years  be- 
fore our  Savior's  birth,  he,  with  the 
Jews5  consent,  began  to  build  the  tem- 
ple. About  this  time  the  Jews  had 
hopes  of  the  Messiah;  and  about  A.M. 
<4000,CHRIST  ACTUALLY  CAME, 
whom  Herod,  (fearing  to  lose  his 
throne)  sought  to  murder.  The  Jews," 
however,  a  few  excepted,  rejected  the 
Messiah,  and  put  him  to  death.  The 
sceptre  was  now  wholly  departed  from 
ladah;  and  Judea,  about  twenty-seven 
years  before,  reduced  to  a  province. 
The  Jews  ^inee  that  time, 


if  6      Sentiments  of  the  Jews. 

scattered,  contemned,  persecuted,  and 
enslaved  among  all  nations,  not  mixed 
with  any  in  the  common  manner,  but: 
have  remained  as  a  body  distinct  by 
themselves. 

2.  SENTIMENTS  OP  THE  JEWS. 

The  Jews  commonly  reckon  but  thir- 
teen articles  of  their  faith.    Maimonides* 
a  famous  Jewish  rabbi,  reduced  them  to 
this  number  when  he  drew  up  their  con- 
fession about  the  end  of  the  eleventh 
century,  and  it  was  generally  received* 
All  the  Jews  are  obliged  to  live  and  dk* 
in  the  profession  of  these  thirteen  arti- 
cles, which  are  as  follow: — L  That  God 
is  the  creator  of  all  things;  that  he  guides 
and  supports  all  creatures;   that  he  has* 
done  every  thing;  and  that  he  still  acts, 
and  shall  act  during  the  whole  eten; 
— 2.  That  God  is  one:  there  is  no  uni- 
ty like  his.     He  alone  hath  been,  is,  and 
shall   be  eternally  our  God.— S.  1 
God    is  incorporeal,    and   cannot  i 
any  material  properties;    and  no  co 
real  essence  can  be  compared  with  1 
— 4.   That  God  is  the  beeinnh 
end  of  all  things*  and  shall  eternally  p 


Sentiments  of  the  Jews.      VJ7 

sist. — 5.  That  God  alone  ought  to  be 
worshipped,  and  none  beside  him  is  to 
be  adored. — 6.  That  whatever  has  been 
taught  by  the  prophets  is  true. — 7.  That 
Moses  is  the  head  and  father  of  all  con- 
temporary doctors,  of  those  who  lived 
before  or  shall  live  after  him. — 8.  That 

the  law  was  given  by  Moses 9.  That 

the  law  shall  never  be  altered,  and  that 
God  will  give  no  other. — 10.  That  God 
knows  all  the  thoughts  and  actions  of 
men. — 11.  That  God  will  regard  the 
works  of  all  those  who  have  performed 
what  he  commands,  and  punish  those 
who  have  transgressed  his  laws.-— 12. 
That  the  Messiah  is  to  come,  though  he 
tarry  a  long  time. — 13.  That  there  shall 
be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead  when  God 
shall  think  fit. 

The  modern  Jews  adhere  still  as 
closely  to  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  as 
their  dispersed  and  despised  condition 
will  permit  them.  Their  service  con- 
sists chiefly  in  reading  the  law  in  their 
synagogues,  together  with  a  variety  of 
prayers.  They  use  no  sacrifices  since 
the  destruction  of  the  temple.  They 
repeat  blessings  and  particular  praises  to 


178       Sentiments  cf  the  Jews. 

God,  not  only  in  their  prayers,  but  on 
all  accidental  occasions,  and  in  almost 
all  their  actions.  They  go  to  prayer, 
three  times  a  day  in  their  synagogues* 
Their  sermons  are  not  made  in  Hebrew, 
which  few  of  them  now  perfectly  under- 
stand, but  in  the  language  of  the  coun- 
try where  they  reside.  They  are  for- 
bidden all  vain  swearing,  and  pronoun- 
cing any  of  the  names  of  God  without 
necessity.  They  abstain  from  meats 
prohibited  by  the  Leviticai  law;  for 
which  reason,  whatever  they  eat  must 
be  dressed  by  Jews,  and  after  a  manner 
peculiar  to  themselves.  As  soon  as  a 
child  can  speak,  they  teach  him  to  read 
and  translate  the  Bible  into  the  language 
of  the  country  where  they  live.  In  gen- 
eral  they  observe  the  same  ceremonies 
which  were  practised  by  their  ancestors 
in  the  celebration  of  the  passover.  They 
acknowledged  a  two. fold  law  of  God,  a 
written  and  an  unwritten  one;  the  for- 
mer is  contained  in  the  Pentateuch,  or 
five  books  of  Moses;  the  latter,  they 
pretend,  was  delivered  by  God  to  Mo- 
ses, and  handed  down  from  him  bv  oral 
tradition,  and  now  to  be  received  a 

s  of 


Sentiments  of  the  Jews.       179 

equal  authority  with  the  former.  They 
assert  the  perpetuity  of  their  law,  together 
with  its  perfection.  They  deny  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  prophecies  in  the 
person  of  Christ:  alleging  that  the  Mes- 
siah is  not  come,  and  that  he  will  make 
his  appearance  with  the  greatest  worldly 
pomp  and  grandeur,  subduing  all  nations 
before  him,  and  subjecting  them  to  the 
Jhouse  of  Judah.  Since  the  prophets 
have  predicted  his  mean  condition  and 
sufferings,  they  confidently  talk  of  two 
Messiahs,  one  Ben-Ephraim,  whom  they 
grant  to  be  a  person  of  a  mean  and  afflic- 
ted condition  in  this  world:  and  the  other^ 
3en~  David,  who  shall  be  a  victorious  and 
powerful  prince. 

The  Jews  pray  for  the  souls  of  the 
dead,  because  they  suppose  there  is  a 
paradise  for  the  souls  of  good  men, 
where  they  enjoy  glory  in  the  presence 
of  God.  They  believe  that  the  souls  of 
the  wicked  are  tormented  in  hell  with 
fire  and  other  punishments;  that  some 
are  condemned  to  be  punished  in  this 
manner  forever,  while  others  continue 
y  for  a  limited  time;  and  this  they 
call  purgatory,  which  Is   not   different 


180      Sentiments  of  the  Jc 

from  hell  in  respect  of  the  place,  but 
the  duration.  They  suppose  no  Jew* 
unless  guilty  of  heresy,  or  certain  crimes 
specified  by  the  rabbins,  shall  continue 
in  purgatory  above  a  twelve-month;  and 
that  there  are  but  few  who  suffer  eternal 
punishment. 

Almost  all  the  modern  Jews  are  phar- 
isees,  and  are  as  much  attached  to  tradi- 
tion as  their  ancestors  were;  and  assert 
that,  whoever  rejects  the  oral  law  de- 
serves death.  Hence  they  entertain  an 
implicable  hatred  to  the  Cardites,  who 
adhere  to  the  text  of  Moses,  rejecting 
the  rabbinistical  interpretation. 

There  are  still  some  of  the  saddacees 
in  Africa,  and  in  several  other  places; 
but  they  are  few  in  number:  at  least 
there  are  but  very  few  who  declare 
openly  for  these  opinions. 

There  are  to  this  day  some  remains 
of  the  ancient  sect  of  the  Samaritans, 
who  are  zealous  for  the  law  of  Moses, 
but  are  despised  by  the  Jews,  because 
they  receive  only  the  Pentateuch; 
observe  different  ceremonies  from 
They  declare  they  are  no  saddw 
Sicknowledge  the  spirituality  and  imn 


Calamities  of  the  Jews.       181 

tality  of  the  soul.  There  are  numbers 
of  this  sect  at  Gaza,  Damascus,  Grand 
Cairo,  and  in  some  other  places  of  the 
east;  but  especially  at  Sichem,  now 
called  Naplouse,  which  is  risen  out  of 
the  ruins  of  the  ancient  Samaria,  where 
they  sacrificed  not  many  years  ago,  hav- 
ing a  place  for  this  purpose  on  Mount 
Genzim. 

David  Levi,  a  learned  Jew,  who,  in 
1796,  published  "Dissertations  on  the 
Prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,"  ob- 
serves in  that  work,  that  deism  and  infi- 
delity have  made  such  large  strides  in 
the  world,  that  they  have  at  length  reach- 
ed even  the  Jewish  nation;  many  of 
whom  are  at  this  time  so  greatly  infect- 
ed with  skepticism,  by  reading  Bolin- 
broke,  Hume,  Voltaire,  &c.  that  they 
scarcely  believe  in  a  revelation;  much 
less  have  they  any  hope  in  their  future 
restoration. 

3.  CALAMITIES  OF  THE  JEWS. 

All  history  cannot  furnish  us  with  a 

parallel  to  the  calamities  and  miseries  of 

the  Jews;  rapine  and  murder,  famine  and 

pestilence,  within;   fire  and  sword,  and 

16 


182       Calamities  of  the  Jews. 

all  the  terrors  of  war,  without.  Oar  Sa- 
vior wept  at  the  foresight  of  these  calam- 
ities; and  it  is  almost  impossible  for 
persons  of  any  humanity  to  read  the  ac- 
count without  being  affected.  The  pre- 
dictions concerning  them  were  remarka- 
ble, and  the  calamities  that  came  upon 
ihem  were  the  greatest  that  the  world 
ever  saw,  Deut.  xxviii,  xxix.  Matt, 
xxiv.  Now,  what  heinous  sin  was  it 
that  could  be  the  cause  of  such  heavy 
judgments?  Can  any  other  be  assigned 
than  what  the  scripture  assigns?  1  Thes. 
ii,  15,  16.  "They  both  killed  the  Lord 
Jesus  and  their  own  prophets,  and  per- 
secuted the  apostles:  and  so  filled  up 
their  sins,  and  wrath  came  upon  them 
to  the  uttermost."  It  is  hardly  possi- 
ble to  consider  the  nature  and  extent  of 
their  sufferings,  and  not  conclude  the 
Jews'  own  irpprecation  to  be  singularly 
fulfilled  upon  them,  Matt,  xxvii,  25. 
"His  blood  be  on  us  and  our  children." 
At  Cesarea  twenty  thousand  of  the  Jews 
were  killed  by  the  Syrians  in  their  mu- 
tual broils.  At  Damascus  ten  thousand 
unarmed  Jews  were  killed;  and  at  Beth- 
shan   the  Heathen   inhabitants    caused 


Calamilies  of  the  Jews.       ISB{ 

their  Jewish  neighbors  to  assist  them 
against  their  brethren,  and  then  murder- 
ed thirteen  thousand  of  these  inhabitants. 
At  Alexandria  the  Jews  murdered  mul- 
titudes of  the  Heathens,  and  were  mur- 
dered in  their  turn  to  about  fifty  thou- 
sand. The  Romans  under  Vespasian 
invaded  the  country,  and  took  the  cities 
of  Galilee^  Chorazin,  Bethsaida,  Gaper-  , 
naimi,  &c  ,  where  Christ  had  been  espe- 
cially rejected,  and  murdered  numbers 
of  the  inhabitants.  At  Jerusalem  the 
scene  was  most  wretched  of  all.  At  the 
passover,  when  there  might  be  two  or 
three  millions  of  people  in  the  city,  the 
Romans  surrounded  it  with  troops, 
trenches,  and  walls  *  that  none  might 
escape.  The  three  different  factions 
within  murdered  one  another.  Titus, 
one  of  the  most  merciful  generals  that 
ever  breathed,  did  all  in  his  power  to 
persuade  them  to  an  advantageous  sur- . 
render,  but  tbey  scorned  every  proposal. 
The  multitudes  of  unburied  carcasses 
corrupted  the  air,  and  produced  a  pesti- 
lence. The  people  fed  on  one  another; 
and  even  ladies,  it  is  said,  broiled  their 
sucking  infants,  and  ate  them*     After  a 


184.       Calamities  of  the  Jews. 

siege  of  six  months  the  city  was  taken. 
They  murdered  almost  evefy  Jew  they 
met  with.  Titus  was  bent  to  sav^  the 
temple,  but  could  not;  there  were  six 
thousand  Jews  who  had  taken  shelter  in 
it,  all  burnt  or  murdered!  The  outcries 
of  the  Jews,  when  they  saw  it,  were 
most  dreadful:  the  whole  city,  except 
jpjhree  towers  and  a  small  part  of  the  wall, 
'  were  razed  to  the  ground,  and  the  foun- 
dations of  the  temple  and  other  places 
were  ploughed  up.  Soon  after  the  forts 
of  Herodian  and  Macheron  were  taken, 
the  garrison  of  Massada  murdered  them- 
selves rather  than  surrender.  At  Jeru- 
salem alone,  it  is  said,  one  million  one 
hundred  thousand  perished  by  sword, 
famine,  and  pestilence.  In  other  places 
we  hear  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand that  were  cut  off,  besides  vast  num- 
bers sent  into  Egypt  to  labor  as  slaves. 
About  fifty  years  after,  the  Jews  murder- 
ed about  five  hundred  thousand  of  the 
Roman  subjects,  for  which  they  were 
severely  punished  by  Trajan.  About 
130,  one  Barocaba  pretended  that  he  was 
the  Messiah,  and  raised  a  Jewish  army  of 
two  hundred  thousand,  who  murdered 


Calamities  of  the  Jews.       185 

all  the  Heathens  and  Christians  who 
came  in  their  way;  but  he  was  defeated 
by  Adrian's  forces.  In  this  war  it  is 
said,  about  sixty  thousand  Jews  were 
slain,  and  perished.  Adrian  built  a  city 
on  Mount  Calvary,  and  erected  a  marble 
statue  of  swine  over  the  gate  that  led  to 
Bethlehem.  No  Jew  was  allowed  to  en- 
ter the  city,  or  to  look  to  it  at  a  distance,  ^ 
under  pain  of  death.  In  360  they  be- 
gan to  rebuild  their  city  and  temple; 
but  a  terrible  earthquake  and  flames  of 
lire  issuing  from  the  earth,  killed  the 
workmen,  and  scattered  their  materials. 
Nor  till  the  seventh  century  durst  they 
so  much  as  creep  over  the  rubbish  to 
bewail  it,  without  bribing  the  guards. 
In  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  centuries, 
there  were  many  of  them  furiously  har- 
rassed  and  murdered.  In  the  sixth  cen- 
tury twenty  thousand  of  them  were  slain, 
and  as  many  taken  and  sold  for  slaves. 
In  602  they  were  severely  punished  for 
their  horrible  massacre  of  the  Christians 
at  Antioch.  In  Spain,  in  700,  they  were 
ordered  to  be  enslaved.  In  the  eighth 
and  ninth  centuries  they  were  greatly 
derided  and  abused.  In  son^e  places 
16* 


I8G       Calamities  of  the  Jews. 

they  were  made  to  wear  leathern  girdles, 
and  ride  without  stirrups  classes  and 
mules.  In  France  and  Spain  they 
were  much  insulted.  In  the  tenth, 
eleventh,  and  twelfth  centuries,  their 
miseries  rather  increased:  they  were 
greatly  persecuted  in  Egypt.  Besides 
what  they  suffered  in  the  East  by  the 
Turkish  and  sacred  war,  it  is  shocking 
to  think  what  multitudes  of  them  the 
eight  crcisades  murdered  in  Germany, 
Hungary,  Lesser  Asia,  and  elsewhere. 
In  France  multitudes  were  burnt. — In 
England,  in  1020,  they  were  banished; 
and  at  the  coronation  of  Richard  I.,  the 
mob  fell  upon  them,  and  murdered  a 
great  many  of  them.  About  one  thou- 
sand five  hundred  of  them  were  burnt 
in  the  palace  in  the  city  of  York,  which 
they  set  fire  to  themselves,  after  killing 
their  wives  and  children.  In  the  thir- 
teenth and  fourteenth  centuries  their  con- 
dition was  no  better.  In  Egypt,  Canaan, 
and  Syria,  the  croisaders  still  harrassed 
them.  Provoked  with  their  mad  running; 
after  pretended  Messiahs,  Califf  Nasser 
.scarce  left  any  of  them  alive  in  his  do- 
'minions  of  Mesopotamia,     In  Pet  , 


Calamities  of  the  Jews.       187 

the  Tartars  murdered  them  in  multi- 
tudes. In  Spain,  Ferdinand  persecuted 
them  furiously.  About  1349,  the  terri- 
ble massacre  of  them  at  Toledo  forced 
many  of  them  to  murder  themselves,  or 
change  their  religion.  About  1253 
many  were  murdered,  and  others  ban- 
ished from  France,  but  in  1275  recalled. 
In  1320  and  1330,  the  croisades  of  tht: 
.  fanatic  shepherds,  who  wasted  the  south 
of  France,  massacred  them;  besides  fif- 
teen hundred  that  were  murdered  on 
-another  occasion.  In  1358  they  were 
totally  banished  from  France,  since  which 
few  of  them  have  entered  that  country. 
In  1291  king  Edward  expelled  them 
from  England,  to  the  number  cf  one 
hundred  and  sixty  thousand.  In  the 
fifteenth,  sixteenth,  and  seventeeth  cen- 
turies, their  misery  continued.  In  Per- 
sia they  have  been  terribly  used:  from 
1663  to  1666,  the  murder  of  them  was 
so  universal,  that  but  few  escaped  to 
Turkey.  In  Portugal  and  Spain,  they 
have  been  miserably  handled.  About 
1392,  six  or  eight  hundred  thousand 
were  banished  from  Spain.  Some  wcvq 
drowned   in   the;?   passage   to    Af> 


188       Calamities  of  the  Jews. 

some  by  hard  usage;  and  many  of  their  • 
carcasses  lay  in  the  fields  till  the  wild 
beasts  devoured  them.  In  Germany 
they  have  endured  many  hardships. 
They  have  been  banished  from  Bohe- 
mia, Bavaria,  Cologne,  Nuremburg, 
Augsburg,  and  Vienna:  they  have  been 
terribly  massacred  in  Moravia,  and  plun- 
dered in  Bonn  and  Bamberg.  Except 
in  Portugal  and  Spain,  their  present  con- 
dition is  generally  tolerable.  In  Holland, 
Poland,  and  at  Frankfort  and  Hamburgh, 
they  have  their  liberty.  They  have  re- 
peatedly, but  in  vain,  attempted  to  ob- 
tain a  naturalization  in  England,  and 
other  nations  among  whom  they  are  scat- 
tered. 

"Most  barefaced  acts  of  tyranny  and 
oppression  were  practised  against  the 
Jews  in  England,  who  were  entirely  out 
of  the  protection  of  law,  were  extremely 
odious  from  the  bigotry  of  the  people, 
and  were  abandoned  to  the  immeasura- 
ble rapacity  of  the  king  and  his  minis- 
ters. Besides  many  other  indignities  to 
which  they  were  continually  exposed,  it 
appears  that  they  were  once  all  throv/n 


Preservation  of  the  Jews.     189 

into  prison,  and  the  sum  of  66,000  marks 
exacted  for  their  liberty:  At  another 
time,  Isaac  the  Jew  paid  alone  5100 
marks;  Brim,  3000  marks;  Jurnot,  2000; 
Bennet,  500:  At  another,  Licorica,  wid- 
ow of  David  the  Jew  of  Oxford,  was  re- 
quired to  pay  6000  marks;  and  she  was 
delivered  over  to  six  of  the  richest  and 
discreetest  Jews  in  England,  who  were 
to  answer  for  the  sum.  Henry  III.  bor- 
rowed 5000  marks  from  the  earl  of 
Cornwal;  and  for  his  repayment  con- 
signed over  to  him  all  the  Jews  in  Eng- 
land. The  revenue  arising  from  exac-^ 
tions  upon  this  nation  was  so  considera* 
ble,  that  there  was  a  particular  court  of 
exchequer  set  apart  for  managing  it.33* 

4.  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  JEWS. 

"The  preservation  of  the  Jews,33  says 
Basnage,  "in  the  midst  of  the  miseries 
which  they  have  undergone  during  1700 
years,  is  the  greatest  prodigy  that  can  be 
imagined.  Religions  depend  on  tem- 
poral prosperity:  they  triumph  under 
the  protection  of  a  conqueror;  they  lan- 
guish and  sink  with  sinking  monarchies. 

*  Hume's  Hist.  Eng.  vol.  ii,  p.  SI. 


190    Preservation  of  the  Jews. 

Paganism,  which  once  covered  the  ear 
is  extinct.  The  Christian  church,  glo- 
rious in  its  martyrs,  yet  was  considera- 
bly diminished  by  the  persecutions  to 
which  it  was  exposed;  nor  was  it  easy 
tp  repair  the  breaches  in  it  made  by 
those  acts  of  violence.  But  here  we 
behold  a  chuich  hated  and  persecuted 
for  1700  ages,  and  yet  sustaining  itself 
and  widely  extended.  Kings  have  often 
employed  the  severity  of  edicts  and  the 
hand  of  executioners  to  ruin  it.  The 
seditious  multitudes,  by  murders  and 
massacres,  have  committed  outrages 
against  it  still  more  violent  and  tragical* 
Princes  and  people,  Pagans,  Mahome- 
tans, Christians,  disagreeing  in  so  many 
things,  have  united  in  the  design  of  ex- 
terminating  it,  and  have  not  been  able  to 
succeed.  The  bush  of  Moses%  surround- 
ed with  flames,  ever  burns,  and  is  never 
consumed.  The  Jews  have  been  ex- 
pelled, in  different  times,  from  every 
part  of  the  world,  which  hath  only  serv- 
ed to  spread  them  in  all  regions.  From 
age  to  age  they  have  been  exposed  to 
misery  and  persecution;  yet  still  they 
subsist,  in  spite  of  the  ignominy  and  the 


Preservation  of  the  Jews.     191 

hatred  which  hath  pursued  them  in  all 
places,  whilst  the  greatest  monarchies 
are  fallen,  and  nothing  remains  of  them 
besides  the  name. 

"The  judgments  which  God  has  ex- 
ercised upon  this  people  are  terrible,  ex- 
tending to  the  men,  the  religion,  and  the 
very  land  in  which  they  dwelt.  The 
ceremonies  essential  »to  their  religiofr 
can  no  more  be  observed:  the  ritual  law, 
which  cast  a  splendor  on  the  national 
worship,  and  struck  the  Pagans  so  much 
that  they  sent  their  presents  and  their 
victims  to  Jerusalem,  is  absolutely  fallen, 
for  they  have  no  temple,  no  altar,  no  sac- 
rifices. Their  land  itself  seems  to  lie 
under  a  never-ceasing  curse.  Pagans, 
Christians,  Mohammedans,  in  a  word, 
almost  all  nations,  have  by  turns  seized 
and  held  Jerusalem.  To  the  Jew  only 
hath  God  refused  the  possession  of  this 
small  tract  of  ground,  so  supremely 
necessary  for  him,  since  he  ought  to 
worship  on  this  mountain.  A  Jewish 
writer  hath  affirmed,  that  it  is  long  since 
any  Jew  has  been  seen  settled  near  Jeru- 
salem: scarcely  can  they  purchase  there? 
six  feet  of  land  for  a  burying- place . 


192      Number,  and  Dispersion 

"In  all  this  there  is  no  exaggeration: 
I  am  only  pointing  out  known  facts: 
and,  far.from  having  the  least  design  to 
raise  an  odium  against  the  nation  from 
its  miseries,  I  conclude  that  it  ought  to 
be  looked  upon  as  one  of  those  prodi- 
gies which  we  admire  without  compre- 
hending: since,  in  spite  of  evils  so  du- 
rable, and  a  patience  so  long  exercised, 
it  is  preserved  by  a  particular  provi- 
dence. The  Jew  ought  to  be  weary  of 
expecting  a  Messiah,  who  so  unkindly 
disappoints  his  vain  hopes:  and  the 
Christian  ought  to  have  his  attention 
and  his  regard  excited  towards  men 
whom  God  preserves,  for  so  great  a 
length  of  time,  under  calamities  which 
would  have  been  the  total  ruin  of  any 
ether  people." 

r  MBER,  AI7D  DISPERSION   OF  THE  JEWS. 

They  are  looked  upon  to  be  as  nu- 
merous at  present  as  they  were  formerly 
in  the  land  of  Canaan.  Some  have  rated 
them  at  three  millions,  and  others  more 
than  double  that  number.  Their  dis- 
persion is  a  remarkable  particular  in  this 
people:  They  swarm  all  over  the  east, 


of  the  Jews.  103 

and  arc  settled,  it  is  said,  in  the  remotest 
parts  of  China.     The  Turkish  empire 
abounds  with  them.     There  are  more 
of  them  at  Constantinople  and  Salonichi 
than  in  any  other  place:  they  are  spread 
through  most  of  the  nations  of  Europe 
and  Africa,  and  many  families  of  them 
are  established  in  the  West  Indies;  not 
to  mention  whole  nations  bordering  on 
Prester  John's  country,  and  some  discov- 
ered in  the  inner  parts  of  America,  if  we 
may  give  any  credit  to  their  own  writers. 
Their   being  always  in  rebellions,  (as 
Addison  observes)   while  they  had  the 
Holy  Temple  in  view,  has  excited  most 
nations   to  banish  them.     Besides,  the 
whole  people  are  now  a  race  of  such 
merchants  as  are  wanderers  by  profes- 
sion; and  at  the  same  time  are  in  most, 
if  not  in  all  places,  incapable  of  either 
lands  or  offices,  that  might  engage  them 
to  make  any  part  of  the  world   their 
home.     In  addition  to  this,  we  may  con- 
sider what  providential  reasons  may  be 
assigned  for  their  numbers  and  disper- 
sion.    Their  firm  adherence  to  their  re- 
ligion, and  being  dispersed  all  over -the 
earth,  has  furnished  every  age  and  every 
IT 


194  The  Restoration 

nation  with  the  strongest  arguments  for 
the  Christian  faith;  not  only  as  these 
very  particulars  are  foretold  of  them,  but 
as  they  themselves  are  the  depositaries 
of  these  and  all  other  prophecies  which 
tend  to  their  own  confusion,  and  the  es- 
tablishment of  Christianity.  Their  num. 
ber  furnishes  us  with  a  sufficient  cloud 
of  witnesses  that  attest  the  truth  of  the 
Bible,  and  their  dispersion  spreads  these 
witnesses  through  all  parts  of  the  world- 

RESTORATION   OF  THE  JEWS. 

From  the  declarations  of  scripture  we 
have  reason  to  suppose  the  Jews  shall 
be  called  to  a  participation  of  Uie  bles- 
sings of  the  Gospel,  Rom.  xi;  2  Cor. 
iii,  16;  Hos.  i,  11,  and  some  suppose 
shall  return  to  their  own  land,  Hos.  iii, 
5;  Isa.  lxv,  17,  &c.  Ezek.  xxxvi.  As 
to  the  time,  some  think  about  1866,  or 
2016,  but  this,  perhaps,  is  not  so  easy  to 
determine  altogether,  though  it  is  prob- 
able it  will  not  be  before  the  fall  of  An- 
tichrist and  the  Ottoman  empire.  Let 
us,  however,  avoid  putting  stumbling- 
bio  ks  in  their  way.  If  we  attempt  any 
thing  for  their  conversion,  let  it  be  with 


<>f  the  Jews.  195 

peace  and  love.  Let  us,  says  one,  pro* 
pose  Christianity  to  them,  as  Christ  pro- 
posed it  to  them.  Let  us  lay  before  them 
their  own  prophecies.  Let  us  shew 
them  their  accomplishment  in  Jesus. 
Let  us  applaud  their  hatred  of  idolatry. 
Let  us  shew  them  the  morality  of  Jesus 
in  our  lives  and  tempers.  Let  us  nev- 
er abridge  their  civil  liberty,  nor  ever 
try  to  force  their  consciences. 


H 


SOME  ACCOUNT 

OF 
SEVERAL   IMPOSTORS   PRETENDING    TO    ES, 

THE  MESSIAH. 

"If  any  man  shall  say  to  you,  Lo,  here  is  Chrst$ 
or,  lo,  he  is  there^  believe  him  not" 

Messiah  signifies  anointed,  the  title 
given  by  way  of  eminence  to  our 
Savior;  meaning  the  same  in  He- 
brew as  Christ  in  Greek,  and  alludes  to 
the  authority  he  had  to  assume  the  char- 
acters of  prophet,  priest,  and  king,  and 
that  cf  Savior  of  the  world.  The  an- 
cient Jews  had  just  notions  of  the  Mes- 
siah, which  came  gradually  to  be  cor- 
rupted, by  expecting  a  temporal  mon- 
arch and  conqueror;  and  finding  Jesus 
Christ  to  be  poor,  humble,  and  of  an  un- 
promising appearance,  they  rejected 
liim.     Most  of  the  modern  rabbins,  ac- 

<■  cording  to  Buxtorf,  believe  that  the 
Messiah  is  come,  biiythat  he   lies  con- 

\  cealed  because  of  the  sins  of  the  iews. 
Others  believe  he  is  not  yet  come,  fix- 
ing different  times  for  his  appearance, 
many  of  which  are  elapsed;  and  being 


False  Messiahs.  1 97 

thus  baffled,  have  pronounced  an  ana-  ? 
thema  against  those  who  shall  pretend 
to  calculate  the  time  of  his  coming.  To 
reconcile  the  prophecies  concerning  the 
Messiah,  that  seemed  to  be  contradicto- 
ry, some  have  had  recourse  to  a  twofold 
Messiah;  one  in  a  state  of  poverty  and 
suffering,  the  other  of  splendor  and  glo- 
ry. The  first,  they  say,  is  to  proceed 
from  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  who  is  to 
fight  against  Gog,  and  to  be  slain  by 
Annillus,  Zech.  xii,  10;  the  second  is  to 
be  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  and  lineage  of 
David,  who  is  to  conquer  and  kill  An- 
nillus; to  bring  the  first  Messiah  to  life 
again,  to  assemble  all  Israel,  and  rule 
over  the  whole  world. 

That  Jesus  Christ  is  the  true  Messi- 
ah, and  actually  come  in  the  flesKP,  is  ev- 
ident, if  we  consider  (as  Mr.  Fuller  ob- 
serves) that  it  is  intimated,  that  whenev- 
er he  should  come,  the  sacrifices  and 
ceremonies  of  the  Mosaic  law  were  to  be 
superseded  by  him,  Psalm  xl,  6 — 8;  I 
Samqel  xv,  22;  Daniel  ix,  27;  Jeremiah 
xxflfi,  31,  34;  Hebrews  viii,  13.  Now 
sacrifice  and  oblation  have  ceased.  They 
virtually  ceased  when  Jesus  offered  him- 
»17 


198  False  Messiahs. 

self  a  sacrifice;  and  in  a  few  years  after, 
they  actually  ceased.  A  few  of  the  an- 
cient ceremonies  are  indeed  adhered  to, 
but  as  one  of  the  Jewish  writers  ac- 
knowledges, "the  sarifices  of  the  Holy 
Temple  have  ceased."  Let  every  Jew, 
therefore,  ask  himself  this  question: 
Should  Messiah,  the  Prince,  come  at 
some  future  period,  how  are  the  sacri- 
fice and  oblation  to  cease  on  his  appear- 
ance, when  they  have  already  ceased 
nearly  1800  years. 

Again,  it  is  suggested  in  the  Scrip, 
ture,  that  the  great  body  of  the  Sacred 
prophecy  should  be  accomplished  in 
him;  Gen.  iii;  16;  xxii,  18;  Isa.  xlix,  10; 
liii.  1.  The  time  when  he  was  to  come 
is  clearly  marked  out  in  prophecy;  Isa. 
xlix,  10;  Hag.  ii,  6 — 9;  Dan.  ix,  24. 
He  actually  came,   according    to    that 

time 2.  The    place    where    Messiah 

should  be  born,  and  where  he  should 
principally  impart  his  doctrine,  is  deter- 
mined; Micah  v,  2;  Isa.  ix,  2;  and  was 
literally  fulfilled  in  Jesus — 3.  The  house 
or  family  from  whom  he  should  descend 
is  clearly  ascertained.  So  much  is  said 
of  his  descending  from  David,  that  we. 


False  Messiahs.  199 

need  not  refer  to  particular  proofs;  and 
rather,  as  no  Jew  will  deny  it.  The 
genealogies  of  Matthew  and  Luke,  what- 
ever varieties  there  are  between  them, 
agree  in  tracing  his  pedigree  to  David. 
And  though,  in  both,  it  is  traced  in  the 
name  of  Joseph,  yet  this  appears  to  be 
only  in  conformity  to  the  Jewish  custom 
of  tracing  no  pedigree  in  the  name  of  a 
female.  The  father  of  Joseph,  as  men- 
tioned by  Luke,  seems  to  have  been  his 
father  by  marriage  only;  so  that  it  was, 
in  reality,  Mary's  pedigree  that  is  traced 
by  Luke,  though  under  her  husband's 
name;  and  this  being  the  natural  line  of 
descent,  and  that  of  Matthew,  the  legal 
one,  by  which,  as  a  king,  he  would  have 
inherited  the  crown,  there  is  no  incon- 
sistency between  them. — 4.  The  kind 
of  miracles  that  Messiah  should  per- 
form is  specified:  Isa.  xxxv,  5,  6.  He 
actually  performed  the  miracles  there 
predicted,  his  enemies  themselves  being 
judges. — 5.  It  was  prophesied  that  he 
should,  as  a  king,  be  distinguished  by 
his  lowliness;  entering  into  Jerusalem, 
not  in  a  chariot  of  state,  but  in  a  much 
humbler  style;  Zech.  ix,  9;  this  was  re- 


20D  False  Messiahs. 

ally  the  case,  Matt,  xxi,  6.  It  was  pre- 
dicted that  he  should  suffer  and  die  by 
the  hands  of  wicked  men;  Isa.  xlix,  7; 
liii,  9;  Dan.  ix,  26.  Nothing  could  be 
a  more  striking  fulfilment  of  prophesy, 
than  the  treatment  the  Messiah  met 
with,  in  almost  every  particular  circum- 
stance.— 7.  It  was  foretold  that  he  should 
rise  from  the  dead;  Isa.  liii4  11;  Psalm 
Ixviii,   18;    xvi,    10;    his  resurrection  is 

proved  by  indubitable  evidence 8.   It 

was  foretold,  that  the  great  body  of  the 
Jewish  nation  would  not  believe  in  him, 
and  that  he  would  set  up  his  kingdom 
among  the  Gentiles;  Isa.  liii,  1;  xlix, 
4 — 6;  vi,  9 — 12.  Never  wis  a  prophe- 
sy more  completely  fulfilled  than  this,  as 
facts  evidently  prove. 

Lastly,  It  is  declared,  that  when  the 
?vicssiah  should  come,  the  will  of  God 
would  be  perfectly  fulfilled  by  him,  Isa. 
xlii,  1,  49;  Isa.  iii,  5.  And  what  was 
his  whole  life  but  perfect  conformity  to 
him?  He  finished  the  work  the  Father 
gave  Him  to  do:  never  was  there  such  a 
character  seen  among  men.  Well, 
therefore,  may  we  say,  Truly,  this  was 
the  Son  of  God. 


False  Messiahs*  201 

There  have  been  numerous  false  Mes- 
siahs, which  have  arisen  at  different 
times.  Of  these,  the  Savior  predicted, 
Matt,  xxiv,  24.  Some  have  reckoned 
as  many  as  twenty-four,  of  whom  we 
shall  here  give  an  account. 

1.  Caziba  was  the  first  of  any  note 
who  made  a  noise  in  the  world.  Being 
dissatisfied  with  the  state  of  things  un- 
der Adrian,  he  set  himself  up  at  the  head 
of  the  Jewish  nation,  and  proclaimed 
himself  their  long  expected  Messiah. 
He  was  one  of  those  banditti  that  infest- 
ed Judea,  and  committed  all  kinds  of 
violence  against  the  Romans;  and  had 
become  so  powerful,  that  he  was  chosen 
king  of  the  Jews,  and  by  them  acknowl- 
edged their  Messiah.  However,  to  fa- 
cilitate the  success  of  this  bold  enter- 
prize  he  changed  his  name  from  Caziba, 
which  it  was  at  first,  to  that  of  Barcho- 
cheba,  alluding  to  the  star  foretold  by 
Balaam;  for  he  pretended  to  be  the  star 
sent  from  heaven  to  restore  his  nation  to 
its  ancient  liberty  and  glory.  He  chose 
a  forerunner,  raised  an  army,  was  anoint- 
ed king,  coined  money,  inscribed  with 
his  own  name,  and  proclaimed  himself 


302  False  Messiahs. 

Messiah  and  prince  of  the  Jewish  nation,, 
Adrian  raised  an  army,  and  sent  it 
against  him*  He  retired  into  a  town 
called  Bither,  where  he  was  besieged. 
Barchocheba  was  killed  in  the  siege, 
the  city  was  taken,  and  a  dreadful  havoc 
succeeded.  The  Jews  themselves  allow, 
that,  during  this  short  war  against  the 
Romans,  in  defence  of  this  false  Messiah, 
they  lost  five  or  six  hundred  thousand 
souls.  This  was  in  the  former  part  of 
the  second  century. 

2.  In  the  reign  of  Theodosius,  the 
younger,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  434, 
another  impostor  arose,  called  Moses 
Cretensis.  He  pretended  to  be  a  second 
Moses,  sent  to  deliver  the  Jews,  who 
dwelt  in  Crete,  and  promised  to  divide 
the  sea,  and  give  them  a  safe  passage 
through  it.  Their  delusion  proved  so 
strong  and  universal,  that  they  neglect- 
ed their  lands,  houses,  and  all  other  con- 
cerns* and  took  only  so  much  with  them 
as  they  could  conveniently  carry.  And 
on  the  day  appointed,  this  false  Moses, 
having  led  them  to  the  top  of  a  rock; 
men,  women,  and  children,  threw  them- 
selves headlong  down  into  the  sea,  with- 


False  Messiahs.  203 

out  the  least  hesitationorreluctar.ee,  till 
so  great  a  number  of  them  were  drowned, 
as  opened  the  eyes  of  the  rest,  and 
made  them  sensible  of  the  cheat.  They 
then  began  to  look  out  for  their  pretend- 
ed leader,  but  he  disappeared,  and  escap- 
ed out  of  their  hand. 

3.  In  the  reign  of  Justin,  about  520, 
another  impostor  appeared,  who  called 
himself  the  son  of  Moses.  His  name 
was  Dunaan.  He  entered  into  a  city  of 
Arabia  Felix,  and  there  he  greatly  op- 
pressed the  Christians;  but  he  was  taken 
prisoner,  and  put  to.  death  by  Elesban, 
an  iEthiopean  general. 

4-  In  the  year  529,  the  Jews  and  Sa- 
maritans rebelled  against  the  emperor 
Justinian,  and  set  up  one  Julian  for  their 
king;  and  accounted  him  the  Messiah. 
The  emperor  sent  an  army  against  them, 
killed  great  numbers  of  them,  took  their 
pretended  Messiah  prisoner,  and  imme- 
diately put  him  to  death. 

5.  In  the  year  571,  was  born  Mahom- 
ed, in  Arabia.  At  first,  he  professed 
himself  to  be  the  Messiah,  who  was 
promised  to  the  Jews.  By  this  means 
he  drew  many  of  that  unhappy  people 


204  False  Messiahs. 

after  him.  In  some  sense,  therefore,  he 
may  be  considered  in  the  number  of 
false  Messiahs. 

6.  About  the  year  721,  in  the  time  of 
Leo  Isarus,  arose  another  false  Messiah 
in  Spain:  his  name  was  Serenus.  He 
drew  great  numbers  after  him,  to  their 
no  small  loss  and  disappointment,  but 
all  his  pretensions  came  to  nothing. 

7.  The  twelfth  century  was  fruitful 
in  false  Messiahs;  for,  about  the  year 
1137,  there  appeared  one  in  France,  who 
was  put  to  death,  and  many  of  those 
who  followed  him. 

8.  In  the  year  1133,  the  Persians 
were  disturbed  with  a  Jew,  who  called 
hin\self  the  Messiah.  He  collected  to- 
gether a  vast  army.  But  he  too,  was 
put  to  death,  and  his  followers  treated 
with  great  inhumanity. 

9.  In  the  year  1157,  a  false  Messiah 
stirred  up  the  Jews  at  Corduba,  in  Spain. 
The  wiser  and  better  sort  looked  upon 
him  as  a  madman,  but  the  great  body  of 
the  Jews  in  that  nation  believed  in  him. 
On  this  occasion  almost  all  the  Jews  in 
Spain  were  destroyed. 

10.  In  the  year  1167,  another  false 
Messiah  rose  in  the  kingdom  of  Fez, 


False  Messiahs.  205 

which  brought  great  troubles  and  perse- 
cution upon  the  Jews  that  were  scattered 
through  that  country. 

11.  In  the  same  year,  an  Arabian  set 
tip  there  for  the  Messiah,  and  pretended 
to  work  miracles.  When  search  was 
made  for  him,  his  followers  fled,  and  he 
was  brought  before  the  Arabian  king. 
Being  questioned  by  him,  he  replied, 
that  he  was  a  prophet  sent  from  God. 
The  king  then  asked  him,  what  sign  he 
could  shew,  to  confirm  his  mission.  Cut 
off  my  head,  said  he,  and  I  will  return 
to  life  again.  The  king  took  him  at  his 
word,  promising  to  believe  him  if  his 
prediction  came  to  pass.  The  poor 
wretch,  however,  never  returned  to  life 
again,  and  the  cheat  was  sufficiently  dis- 
covered. Those  who  had  been  deluded 
by  him  were  grievously  punished  and 
the  nation  condemned  to  a  very  heavy 
fine. 

12.  Not  long  after  this,  a  Jew,  who 
dwelt  beyond  Euphrates,  called  himself 
the  Messiah,  and  drew  vast  multitudes 
of  people  after  him.  He  gave  this  for 
a  sign  of  it,  that  he  had  been  leprous, 
and  was  cured  ia  the  course  of  one 

18 


f206  False  Messiahs. 

night.  He,  like  the  rest,  perished  in  the 
attempt  and  brought  great  persecution 
on  his  countrymen. 

13.  In  the  year  1174,  a  magician  and 
false  Christ  arose  in  Persia,  who  was 
called  David  Almusser.  He  pretended, 
that  he  could  make  himself  invisible; 
but  he  was  soon  taken  and  put  to  death, 
and  a  heavy  fine  laid  upon  his  brethren, 
the  Jews. 

14.  In  the  year  1177,  another  of  these 
impostors  arose  in  Moravia,  who  was 
called  David  Almusser.  He  pretended, 
that  he  could  make  himself  invisible; 
but  he  was  soon  taken,  and  put  to  death, 
and  a  heavy  fine  laid  upon  his  brethren, 
the  Jews. 

15.  In  the  year  1199,  a  famous  cheat 
and  rebel  exerted  himself  in  Persia,  oi- 
led David  el  David.  He  was  a  man  of 
learning,  a  great  magician,  and  pretend- 
ed to  be  the  Messiah.  He  raised  an 
army  against  the  king,  but  was  taken 
and  imprisoned:  and,  having  made  his 
escape,  was  afterwards  seized  again,  and 
beheaded.  Vast  numbers  of  the  Jews 
were  butchered  for  taking  part  with  this 
impostor. 


False  Messiahs.  207 

16*  We  are  told  of  another  false  Christ 
in  this  same  century,  by  Maimonides  and 
Solomon;  bat  they  take  no  notice  either 
of  his  name,  country,  or  good  or  ill 
success. 

Here  we  may  observe,  that  no  less 
than  ten  false  Christs  arose  in  the  twelfth  / 
century,  and  brought  prodigious  calam* 
ities-and  destruction  upon  the  Jews,  in 
various  quarters  of  the  world. 

17.  In  the  year  1497,  we  find  anoth- 
er false  Christ,  whose  name  was  Ismael 
Sophus,  who  deluded  the  Jews  in  Spain, 
He  also  perished,  and  as  many  as  believ- 
ed in  him  were  dispersed. 

18.  In  the  year  1500,  Rabbi  Lemlem* 
a  German  Jew,  of  Austria,  declared 
himself  a  forerunner  of  the  Messiah,  and 
pulled  down  his  own  oven,  promising 
his  brethren  that  they  should  bake  their 
bread  in  the  Holy  Land  next  year. 

19.  In  the  year  1509,  one  whose 
name  was  PlefFerkorn,  a  Jew,  of  Cologn* 
pretended  to  be  the  Messiah.  He  after- 
wards affected,  however,  to  turn  Chris* 
tian. 

20.  In  the  year  1534,  Rabbi  Salomo 
Malcho,   giving  out  that   he  was    the 


208  False  Messiahs. 

Messiah,  was  burnt  to  death  by  Charles 
the  Fifth,  of  Spain. 

21.  In  the  year  1615,  a  false  Christ 
arose  in  the  East  Indies,  and  was  greatly 
followed  by  the  Portuguese  Jews,  who 
were  scattered  over  that  country. 

22.  In  the  year  1624,  another  in  the 
low  countries  pretended  to  be  the  Mes- 
siah of  the  family  of  David,  and  of  the 
line  of  Nathan.  He  promised  to  de- 
stroy Rome,  and  to  overthrow  the  king- 
dom of  Antichrist,  and  the  Turkish 
empire. 

23.  In  the  year  1666,  appeared  the 
false  Messiah,  Zabathai  Tzevi,  who 
made  so  great  a  noise,  and  gained  such  a 
number  of  proselytes.  Re  was  born  at 
Aleppo,  imposed  on  the  Jews  for  a  con- 
siderable  time;  but  afterwards,  with  a 
view  of  saving  his  life,  turned  Mahome- 
tan, and  was  at  last  beheaded.  As  the 
history  of  this  impostor  is  more  enter- 
taining than  that  of  those  we  have  al- 
ready mentioned,  I  will  give  it  at  some 
length. 

fcThe  year  1666  was  a  year  of  great 
expectation,  and  some  wonderful  thing 
was  looked  for  by  many,     This  was  a 


False  Messiahs.  209 

fit  time  for  an  impostor  to  set  up;  and 
accordingly  lying  reports  were  carried 
about.  It  was  said,  that  great  multitudes 
marched  from  unknown  parts  to  the  re- 
mote deserts  of  Arabia,  and  they  were 
supposed  to  be  the  ten  tribes  of  Israel, 
who  had  been  dispersed  for  many  ages; 
that  a  ship  was  arrived  in  the  north  part 
of  Scotland,  with  sails  and  cordage  of 
silk;  that  the  mariners  spake  nothing  but 
Hebrew;  that  on  the  sails  was  this  motto, 
The  twelve  Tribes  of  Israel.  Thus  were 
credulous  men  possessed  at  that  time. 
Then  it  was  that  Sabatai  Sevi  appear- 
ed at  Smyrna,  and  professed  himself  to 
be  the  Messias.  He  promised  the  Jews 
deliverance  and  a  prosperous  kingdom. 
This,  which  he  promised,  they  firmly 
believed.  The  Jews  now  attended  to 
no  business,  discoursed  of  nothing  but 
their  return,  and  believed  Sabatai  to  be 
the  Messias,  as  firmly  as  we  Christians 
believe  any  article  of  faith*  A  right 
reverend  person  then  in  Turkey,  meet- 
ing with  a  Jew  of  his  acquaintance  at 
Aleppo,  he  asked  him  what  he  thoufltt 
of  Sabatai.  The  Jew  replied,  that  he  W- 
lieved  him  to  be  the  Messias;  and  * 
*1S 


210  False  Messiahs. 

he  was  so  far  of  that  belief,  that,  if  he 
should  prove  an  impostor,  he  would  then 
turn  Christian.  It  is  fit  we  should  be 
particular  in  this  relation,  because  the 
history  is  so  very  surprising  and  remark- 
able; and  we  have  the  account  of  it  from 
those  who  were  in  Turkey. 

Sabatai  Sevi  was  the  son  of  Mordecai 
Sevi,  a  mean  Jew  of  Smyrna.  Sabatai 
was  very  bookish,  and  arrived  to  great 
skill  in  the  Hebrew  learning.  He  was 
the  author  of  a  new  doctrine,  and  for  it 
was  expelled  the  city.  He  went  thence 
to  Salonichi,  of  old  called  Thessalonica, 
where  he  married  a  very  handsome 
woman,  and  was  divorced  from  her. 
Then  he  travelled  into  the  Morea,  then 
to  Tripoli,  Gaza,  and  Jerusalem.  By 
the  way  he  picked  up  a  third  wife.  At 
Jerusalem  he  began  to  reform  the  Jews' 
constitutions,  and  abolish  one  of  their 
solemn  fasts,  and  communicated  his  de- 
signs of  professing  himself  the  Messias 
to  one  Nathan.  He  was  pleased  with  it 
and  set  up  for  his  Ellas,  or  forerunner, 
dp  took  upon  him  to  abolish  ail  the 
ffwish  fasts,  as  not  beseeming,  when  the 
bridegroom   was   now   come.     Nathan 


False  Messiahs.  211 

prophecies  that  the  Messias  should  ap- 
pear before  the  Grand  Seignior  in  less 
than  two  years,  and  take  from  him  his 
crown,  and  iead  him  in  chains. 

At  Gaza,  Sabatai  preached  repentance, 
together  with  a  faith  in  himself,  so  effec- 
tually, that  the  people  gave  themselves 
up  to  their  devotions  and  alms.  The 
noise  of  this  Messias  began  to  fill  all  pla- 
ces. Sabatai  now  resolves  for  Smyrna,  and 
then  for  Constantinople.  Nathan  writes 
to  him  from  Damascus,  and  thus  he  be- 
gins his  letter:  "To  the  king,  our  king, 
lord  of  lords,  who  gathers  the  dispersed 
of  Israel,  who  redeems  our  captivity, 
the  man  elevated  to  the  height  of  all  sub- 
limity, the  Messias  of  the  God  of  Jacob, 
the  true  Messias,  the  celestial  Lion, 
Sabatai  Sevi." 

And  now,  throughout  Turkey,  the 
Jews  were  in  great  expectation  of  glori- 
ous times.  They  now  were  devout  and 
penitent,  that  they  might  not  obstruct 
the  good  which  they  hoped  for. 

Some  fasted  so  long,  that  they  were 
famished  to  death;  others  buried  them- 
selves in  the  earth  till  their  limbs  grew 
stiff;  some  would  endure  melting  wax 


£12  False  Messiahs. 

dropped  on  their  flesh;  some  rolled  in 
snow:  others,  in  a  cold  season,  would 
put  themselves  into  cold  water;  and 
many  buried  themselves.  Business  was 
laid  aside;  superfluities  of  household 
utensils  were  sold;  the  poor  were  provid- 
ed for  by  immense  contributions.  Sa- 
batai  comes  to  Smyrna,  where  he  was 
adored  by  the  people,  though  the  Cha- 
cham  contradicted  him,  for  which  he 
was  removed  from  his  office.  There  he 
in  writing  styles  himself  the  only  and 
first-born  Son  of  God,  the  Messias,  the 
Savior  of  Israel.  And  though  he  met 
with  some  opposition,  yet  he  prevailed 
there  at  last  to  that  degree,  that  some  of 
his  followers  prophesied,  and  fell  into 
stranger  ecstacies:  four  hundred  men 
and  women  prophesied  of  his  growing 
kingdom;  and  young  infants  who  could 
hardly  speak,  would  plainly  pronounce 
Sabbatia,  Messias,  and  Son  of  God. 
The  people  were  for  a  time  possessed, 
and  voices  heard  from  their  bowels: 
some  fell  into  trances,  foamed  at  the 
mfDth,  recounted  their  future  prosperity, 
their  visions  of  the  Lion  of  Judah,  and 
the   triumphs   of  Subatai.     All  which. 


False  Messiahs.  21S 

says  the  relater,  were  certainly  true,  be- 
ing effects  of  diabolical  delusions,  as 
the  Jews  themselves  have  since  confessed. 
Now  the  impostor  swells  and  assumes. 
Whereas  the  Jews,  in  their  synagogues, 
were  wont  to  pray  for  the  Grand  Seign- 
ior, he  orders  those  prayers  to  be  fore- 
born  for  the  future,  thinking  it  an  inde- 
cent thing  to  pray  for  him  who  was 
shortly  to  be  his  captive;  and  instead  of 
praying  for  the  Turkish  emperor,  he 
appoints  prayers  for  himself.  He  also 
elected  princes  to  govern  the  Jews  in 
their  march  towards  the  Holy  Land,  and 
to  minister  justice  to  them  when  they 
should  be  possessed  of  it.  These  princes 
were  men  well  known  in  the  city  of 
Smyrna  at  that  time.  The  people  were 
now  pressing  to  see  some  miracle  to 
confirm  their  faith,  and  to  convince  the 
Gentiles.  Here  the  impostor  was  puz- 
zled, though  any  juggling  trick  would 
have  served  their  turn.  But  the  credu- 
lous people  supplied  this  defect.  When 
Sabatai  was  before  the  Cadi  (or  justice 
of  peace,)  some  affirmed  they  saw  a  pil- 
lar of  fire  between  him  and  the  Cadi; 
and  after  some  had  affirmed  it,  others 


214  False  Messiahs. 

were  ready  to  swear  it,  and  did  swear  k 
also;  and  this  was  presently  believed  by 
the  Jews  of  that  city.  He  that  did  not 
now  believe  him  to  be  the  Messias 
was  to  be  shunned  as  an  excommunicat- 
ed person.  The  impostor  now  declares 
that  he  was  called  of  God  to  see  Con- 
stantinople, where  lie  had  much  to  do. 
He  ships  himself,  to  that  end  in  a  Turk- 
ish saick,  in  January,  1666.  He  had  a 
long  and  troublesome  voyage;  he  had 
not  power  over  the  sea  and  winds.  The 
Viseir  upon  the  news,  sends  for  him» 
and  confines  him  in  a  loathsome  prison. 
The  Jews  pay  him  their  visits;  and  they 
of  this  city  are  as  infatuated  as  those  in 
Smyrna.  They  forbid  traffic,  and  refuse 
to  pay  their  debts.  Some  of  our  Eug- 
ligh  merchants,  not  knowing  how  to  re- 
cover their  debts  from  the  Jews,  took 
this  occasion  to  visit  Sabatai,  and  make 
their  complaints  to  him  against  his  sub- 
jects; whereupon  he  wrote  the  following 
letter  to  the  Jews: 

"To  you  of  the  nation  of  the  Jews, 
who  expect  the  appearance  of  the  Mes- 
sias, and  the  salvation  of  Israel,  peace 
without  end.  Whereas  we  are  informed 


False  Messiahs.  215 

that  you  are  indebted  to  several  of  the 
English  nation,  it  seemeth  right  unto  us 
to  order  you  to  make  satisfaction  to  these 
your  just  debts,  which  if  you  refuse  to  * 
do,  and  not  obey  us  herein,  know  you 
that  then  you  are  not  to  enter  with  us 
into  our  joys  and  dominions." 

Sabatai  remained  a  prisoner  in  Con- 
stantinople  for  the  space  of  two  months. 
The  Grand  Viseir,  designing  for  Candia, 
thought  it  not  safe  to  leave  him  in  the 
city  during  the  Grand  Seignior's  absence 
and  his  own.  He,  therefore,  removed 
•liirn  to  the  Dardanelli,  a  better  air  indeed, 
but  yet  out  of  the  way,  and  consequent- 
ly importing  less  danger  to  the  city; 
which  occasioned  the  Jews  to  conclude, 
that  the  Turks  could  not,  or  durst  not, 
take  away  his  life;  which  had,  they  con- 
cluded, been  the  surest  way  to  have  re- 
moved all  jealousy.  The  Jews  flocked 
in  great  numbers  to  the  castle,  where  he 
was  a  prisoner,  not  only  those  that  were 
near,  but  from  Poland,  Germany,  Leg- 
horn, Venice,  and  other  places:  they  re- 
ceived Sabatai's  blessing,  and  promises 
of  advancement.  The  Turks  made  use 
of  this  confluence;  they  raised  the  price 


216  False  Messiahs. 

of  their  lodgings  and  provisions,  and  put 
their  price  upon  those  who  desired  lo 
see  Sabatai  for  their  admittance.  This 
profit  stopped  their  mouths,  and  no 
complaints  were  for  this  cause  sent  to 
Adrianople. 

Sabatai,  in  his  confinement,  appoints 
the  manner  of  his  own  nativity.  He 
commands  the  Jews  to  keep  it  on  the 
ninth  day  of  the  month  Ab,  and  to  make 
it  a  day  of  great  joy,  to  celebrate  it  with 
pleasing  mrats  and  drinks5  with  illumina- 
tions and  music.  He  obligeth  them  to 
acknowledge  the  love  of  God,  in  giving  • 
them  that  day  of  consolation  for  the  birth 
of  their  king  Messias,  Sabatai  Sevi,  his 
servant  and  first  born  son  in  love. 

We  may  observe,  by  the  way,  the  in- 
solence of  this  impostor.  This  day  was 
a  solemn  day  of  fasting  among  the  Jews, 
formerly  in  memory  of  the  burning  of 
the  temple  by  the  Chaldees:  several 
other  sad  things  happened  in  this  month, 
as  the  Jews  observe;  that  then,  and  up- 
on the  same  day,  the  second  temple  was 
destroyed;  and  that  in  this  month  it  was 
decreed  in  the  wilderness,  that  the  Israel- 
ites should  not  enter  into  Canaan,  &c 


False  Messiahs.  21? 

Sabatai  was  born  on  this  day;  and  there- 
fore the  fast  must  be  turned  to  a  feast; 
whereas,  in  truth  it  had  been  well  for  the 
Jews  had  he  not  been  born  at  all;  and 
much  better  for  himself,  as  will  appear 
from  what  follows. 

The  Jews  of  that  city  paid  Sabatai 
Sevi  great  respect.  They  decked  their 
synagogues  with  S.  S.  in  letters  of  gold, 
and  made  for  him  in  the  wall  a  crown; 
tbey  attributed  the  same  titles  and 
prophecies  to  him  which  we  apply 
to  our  Savior.  He  was  also  during  this 
imprisonment,  visited  by  pilgrims  from 
all  parts,  that  had  heard  his  story. 
Among  whom  Nehemiah  Cohen,  from 
Poland,  was  one,  a  man  of  great  learning 
in  the  Kabbala  and  eastern  tongues;  who 
desiring  a  conference  with  Sabatai,  and 
at  the  confeience  maintained,  that  ac- 
cording to  the  Scripture,  there  ought  to 
be  two-fold  Messias;  one  the  son  of 
Ephraim,  a  poor  and  despised  teacher  of 
the  law;  the  other  the  son  of  David  to 
be  a  conqueror.  Nehemiah  was  con- 
tent to  be  the  former,  the  son  of  E- 
phraim,  and  to  leave  the  glory  and  dig- 
nity of  the  latter  to  Sabatai.  Sabatai.  fo*r 
19 


218  False  Messiahs. 

what  appears,  did  not  mislike  this.  But 
here  lay  the  ground  of  the  quarrel:  Ne- 
hemiah  taught  that  the  son  of  Ephraim 
ought  to  be  the  forerunner  of  the  son  of 
David,  and  to  usher  him  in;  and  Nehe- 
miah  accused*  Sabatai  of  too  great   for- 
wardness in  appearing  as  the  son  of  Da- 
vid,  before  the  son  of  Ephraim  had  led 
him  the  way.     Sabatai  could  not  brook 
this  doctrine;  for  he  might  fear  that  the 
son   of  Ephraim,  who  was  to  lead  the 
way,  might  pretend  to  be  the  son  of  Da- 
vid, and  so  leave  him  in  the  lurch;  and 
therefore  he  excluded   him   from   any 
part  or  share   in  this  matter;  which  was 
the  occasion  of  the  ruin  of  Sabatai,  and 
all  his  glorious  designs.     Nehemiah  be- 
ing  disappointed,  goes   to   Adrianople, 
and  informs  the  great  ministers  of  state 
against  Sabatai,  as  a  lewd  and   danger- 
ous person  to  the  government,  and  that 
it  was  necessary  to  take  him  out  of  the 
way.       The   grand  Seignior,  being  in- 
formed of  this,  sends  for  Sabatai,  who, 
much  dejected,  appears  before  him.  The 
Grand  Seignior  requires  a  miracle,  and 
chooses  one  himself;  and  it  was   this: 
that  Sabatai  should   be   stripped  naked, 
and    set  as  a  mark  for  his  archers  to 


False  Messiahs.  219 

shoot  at;  and,  if  the  arrows  did  not 
pierce  his  flesh,  he  would  own  him  to 
be  the  Messias.  Sabatai  had  not  faith 
enough  to  bear  up  under  so  great  a  tri- 
al. The  Grand  Seignior  let  him  know 
that  he  would  forthwith  impale  him,  and 
that  the  stake  was  prepared  for  him,  un- 
less he  would  turn  Turk.  Upon  which 
he  consented  to  turn  Mahometan,  to  the 
great  confusion  of  the  Jews.  And  yet 
some  of  the  Jews  were  so  vain  as  to  af- 
firm, that  it  was  not  Sabatai  himself,  but 
his  shadow,  that  professed  the  religion, 
and  was  seen  in  the  habit  of  a  Turk;  so 
great  was  their  ob- tinacy  and  infidelity, 
as  if  it  were  a  thing  impossible  to  con- 
vince these  deluded  and  infatuated 
wretches. 

After  all  this,  several  of  the  Jews  con- 
tinued to  use  the  forms,  in  their  public 
worship,  prescribed  by  this  Mahometan 
Messias,  which  obliged  the  principal  Jews 
of  Constantinople  to  send  to  the  synagogue 
of  Smyrna  to  forbid  this  practice.  Dur- 
ing these  things,  the  Jews,  instead  of 
minding  their  trade  and  traffic,  filled 
their  letters  with  news  of  Sabatai  their 
Messias  and  his  wonderful  works.  They 


220  False  Messiahs. 

reported,  that,  when  the  Grand  Seign- 
ior sent  to  take  him,  he  caused  all  the 
messengers  that  were  sent  to  die;  and 
when  other  Janizaries  were  sent,  they 
all  fell  dead  by  a  word  from  his  mouth; 
and,  being  requested  to  do  it,  he  caused 
them  to  revive  again.  They  added,  that, 
though  the  prison  where  Sabatai  lay  was 
barred  and  fastened  with  strong  iron 
locks,  yet  he  was  seen  to  walk  through 
the  streets  with  a  numerous  train;  that 
the  shackles  which  were  upon  his  neck 
and  feet  did  not  fall  off,  but  were  turn- 
ed into  gold,  with  which  Sabatai  grati- 
fied his  followers.  Upon  the  fame  of 
these  things  the  Jews,  of  Italy  sent  le- 
gates to  Smyrna,  to  inquire  into  the 
truth  of  these  matters.  When  the  le- 
gates arrived  at  Smyrna,  they  heard  of 
the  news  that  Sabatai  was  turned  Turk, 
to  their  very  great  confusion;  but,  going 
to  visit  the  brother  of  Sabatai,  he  en- 
deavored to  persuade  them  that  Sabatai 
was  still  the  true  Messias;  that  it  was 
not  Sabatai  that  went  about  in  the  habit 
of  a  Turk,  but  his  angel,  or  spirit;  that 
his  body  was  taken  into  heaven,  and 
should  be  sent  down  again  when  God 


False  Messiahs.  221 

should  think  it  a  fit  season.  He  added, 
that  Nathan  his  forerunner,  who  had 
wrought  many  miracles,  would  soon  be 
at  Smyrna;  that  he  would  reveal  hidden 
things  to  them,  and  confirm  them.  But 
this  Elias  was  not  suffered  to  come  into 
Smyrna,  and  though  the  legates  saw  him 
elsewhere,  they  received  no  satisfaction 
at  all. 

24.  The  last  false  Christ  that  had 
made  any  considerable  number  of  con- 
verts, was  one  Rabbi  Mordecai,  a  Jew 
of  Germany:  he  appeared  in  the  year 
1632.  It  was  not  long  before  he  was 
found  out  to  be  an  impostor,  and  was 
obliged  to  fly  from  Italy  to  Poland  to 
save  his  life.  What  became  of  him  af- 
terwards does  not  seem  to  be  recorded. 

This  may  be  considered  as  true  and 
exact  an  account  of  the  false  Christs  that 
have  arisen  since  the  crucifixion  of  our 
blessed  Savior,  as  can  well  be  given. 

THE  END. 


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224        Subscribers^  Names. 


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we  st  bob  o'. 
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